Traffic noise annoyance in the LIFE-adult study in Germany: Exposure-response relationships and a comparison to the WHO curves

Karla Romero Starke; Melanie Schubert; Pauline Kaboth; Julia Gerlach; Janice Hegewald; Matthias Reusche; Dieter Friedemann; Andrea Zülke; Steffi G Riedel-Heller; Hajo Zeeb; Andreas Seidler

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.115815

Traffic noise annoyance in the LIFE-adult study in Germany: Exposure-response relationships and a comparison to the WHO curves

Environ Res. 2023 Jul 1:228:115815. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115815. Epub 2023 Mar 31.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: karla.romero_starke@tu-dresden.de.
² Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
³ Chair of Transport Ecology, Institute of Transport Planning and Road Traffic, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
⁴ Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Unit 3.1 Prevention of Work-related Diseases, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany; Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
⁶ CDF Schallschutz GmbH, Dresden, Germany.
⁷ Institute for Social Medicine, Occupational Medicine and Public Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
⁸ Department of Prevention and Evaluation, Leibnitz-Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany; Health Sciences Bremen, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.

PMID: 37003550
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115815

Abstract

Background: Noise annoyance is the second-highest cause of lost disability-adjusted life-years due to environmental noise in Europe. Evidence on exposure-response relationships (ERRs) for traffic noise annoyance with more accurate exposure values is still needed.

Objectives: In an analysis of the population-based LIFE-Adult study in Leipzig, Germany, we aimed to investigate the effect of road, railway (train and tram), and aircraft noise on high annoyance (HA).

Methods: Traffic exposure data was taken for 2012 and data on noise annoyance was evaluated between 2018 and 2021. HA was defined according to international standardized norms. We calculated risk estimates using logistic regression, controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, and compared our ERRs with those from the last WHO review on this topic.

Results: Aircraft noise had the highest relative risk for noise-related HA (OR = 12.7, 95% CI: 9.37-17.10 per 10 dB L_den increase). The road and railway traffic risk estimates were similar to each other (road: OR = 3.55, 95% CI: 2.78-4.54; railway: OR = 3.31, 95% CI: 2.77-3.97 per 10 dB L_den increase). Compared to the WHO curves, the proportion of highly annoyed individuals was somewhat lower for road and rail traffic noise, but higher for aircraft noise.

Discussion: Aircraft noise is particularly annoying. There were differences between our study's ERRs and those in the WHO review, especially for aircraft noise. These differences may be partly explained by the improved accuracy of the exposure values, as we considered secondary road networks and tram noise, and by a lack of a nighttime flight ban at the Leipzig airport. Geographical, regional and climatic variations, inconsistency in HA cut-offs, as well as temporal developments in the annoyance experience may also explain the differences. Since ERRs serve as a basis for decision making in public policies, regular updates of the curves based on new evidence is recommended.

Keywords: Exposure-response relationship; Mental health; Noise annoyance; Traffic noise.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aircraft
Environmental Exposure
Germany
Humans
Motor Vehicles
Noise, Transportation* / adverse effects
World Health Organization