A recent study has uncovered a significant association between residential exposure to transportation noise and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF). The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe reveals that individuals exposed to elevated levels of road traffic noise face a 2% increase in the risk of AF for every 10-decibel rise in noise exposure. Notably, this risk was amplified among women and those with higher body mass indices, underscoring the need for heightened awareness of environmental health risks.
The study included over 161,000 participants, pooling data from diverse cohorts in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland to assess the long-term effects of transportation noise on cardiovascular health. Researchers employed advanced noise modelling techniques, tracking participants’ residential address histories over a median follow-up of 19.6 years.
The study revealed that long-term residential exposure to road traffic and aircraft noise is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, while no link was found with railway noise. Notably, exposure-response relationships were evident for road and aircraft noise, persisting even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors, lifestyle, and air pollution. Additionally, exposure to multiple sources of transportation noise appeared especially detrimental. Individuals with high BMI and unhealthy lifestyle habits were found to be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of road traffic noise on atrial fibrillation development.
This research builds on previous studies linking noise pollution to various cardiometabolic outcomes, including hypertension and heart disease and fills an important gap by specifically examining AF. While further research on the relationship between noise exposure and atrial fibrillation is necessary, the findings indicate that the disease burden linked to road traffic and potentially aircraft noise could be significantly underestimated if AF is not considered.
Disclosures: This article was created by the touchCARDIO team utilizing AI as an editorial tool (ChatGPT (GPT-4o) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat.) The content was developed and edited by human editors. No funding was received in the publication of this article.
