Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Aviation Noise and Cardiovascular Health in the United States: a Review of the Evidence and Recommendations for Research Direction

  • Environmental Epidemiology (F Laden and J Hart, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Epidemiology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of the Review

In the USA, there is mounting pressure on aviation operators and regulators to address concerns about community impacts of aircraft noise given increasing evidence of adverse health impacts, continuing community complaints, availability of cost-effective programs to reduce exposures to aircraft noise, and more stringent international policies. In the USA, regulation of civil aviation noise is the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which requires a “significant body of scientific support,” particularly applicable to the USA, to inform health-based policy and regulatory decisions. However, there have been very few studies investigating the relationship between noise and health in the USA and limited studies across the globe characterizing the effects of aviation noise specifically on cardiovascular health. This review focuses on recent findings on the relationship between aircraft noise and cardiovascular outcomes and directions for future research.

Recent Findings

Epidemiological studies generally report statistically significant associations between aircraft noise and adverse cardiovascular outcomes, although with limited evidence within the USA. Sleep disturbance, associated with nighttime noise, has been shown to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease given associations with inflammatory markers and metabolic changes. Given numerous cardiovascular markers, the most appropriate choices depend on the ultimate objectives of the individual studies.

Summary

Given the state of the literature, future research should leverage emerging tools to estimate aviation, railway, and road traffic noise and apply noise estimates to a range of epidemiological study designs and endpoints to inform causal interpretation and help determine potential intervention strategies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Airlines and airports 2017 [Available from: https://www.bts.gov/topics/airlines-and-airports.

  2. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration. Passenger boarding (enplanement) and all-cargo data for U.S. airports 2017 [Available from: https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/.

  3. U.S. Department of Transportaion Federal Avaiation Administration. Aviation environmental and energy policy statement. Fed Regist, Vol. 77, No. 141; 2012. p. 43137–43141.

  4. Federal Aviation Administration. Aviation Abatement Policy. Fed Regist. 2000;65(136):43802.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Eagan ME, Gardner R, National Research Council (U.S.) Transportation Research Board, Airport Cooperative Research Program, United States Federal Aviation Administration. Compilation of noise programs in areas outside DNL 65. Washington, D.C.: Transp Res Board; 2009.

  6. Aviation and the Environment: Transition to quieter aircrafts occured as planned but concerns about noise persists. In: U.S. General Accounting Office, editor. Washington, DC2001.

  7. Basner M, Clark C, Hansell A, Hileman JI, Janssen S, Shepherd K, et al. Aviation noise impacts: state of the science. Noise Health. 2017;19(87):41–50.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Munzel T, Gori T, Babisch W, Basner M. Cardiovascular effects of environmental noise exposure. Eur Heart J. 2014;35(13):829–36.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. • Zeeb H, Hegewald J, Schubert M, Wagner M, Droge P, Swart E, et al. Traffic noise and hypertension—results from a large case-control study. Environ Res. 2017;157:110–7. Largest case-control study, to date, evaluating the association of traffic noise, including aircraft noise, with hypertension. Used health insurance claim data but had some individual-level information on age, sex, education and occupation.

  10. •• Dimakopoulou K, Koutentakis K, Papageorgiou I, Kasdagli MI, Haralabidis AS, Sourtzi P, et al. Is aircraft noise exposure associated with cardiovascular disease and hypertension? Results from a cohort study in Athens, Greece. Occup Environ Med. 2017;74(11):830–7. This study is one of two recent studies addressing the lack of prospective studies on aicraft noise and cardiovascular diesase. The study is relatively small given the outcomes, but was the first to investigate the effect on cardiac arrythmia.

  11. •• Seidler A, Wagner M, Schubert M, Droge P, Romer K, Pons-Kuhnemann J, et al. Aircraft, road and railway traffic noise as risk factors for heart failure and hypertensive heart disease-a case-control study based on secondary data. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2016;219(8):749–58. This large study investigates the associations between three sources of transportation noise and relatively rarely investigated cardiovascular outcomes - heart failure and hypertensive heart disease. This study like Zeeb et al., 2017 uses health insurance claim data.

  12. • Evrard AS, Bouaoun L, Champelovier P, Lambert J, Laumon B. Does exposure to aircraft noise increase the mortality from cardiovascular disease in the population living in the vicinity of airports? Results of an ecological study in France. Noise Health. 2015;17(78):328–36. This is one of a few studies relating aircraft noise with cardiovascular disease mortality; however it is an ecological study.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Fastl H, Zwicker E. Psychoacoustics: facts and models. 3rd. ed. Berlin; New York: Springer; 2007. xii, 462 p. p.

  14. International Electrotechnical Commission. Electroacoustics—sound level meters—part 1: specifications. 2002. Contract No.: TC 29, ICS 17.140.50, .

  15. Swift H. A review of the literature related to potential health effects of aircraft noise: PARTNER Project 19 final report. Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emission Reduction Center of Excellence, editor; 2010.

  16. Munzel T, Daiber A, Steven S, Tran LP, Ullmann E, Kossmann S, et al. Effects of noise on vascular function, oxidative stress, and inflammation: mechanistic insight from studies in mice. Eur Heart J. 2017;38(37):2838–49.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Babisch W, Pershagen G, Selander J, Houthuijs D, Breugelmans O, Cadum E, et al. Noise annoyance—a modifier of the association between noise level and cardiovascular health? Sci Total Environ. 2013;452-453:50–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Babisch W. The noise/stress concept, risk assessment and research needs. Noise Health. 2002;4(16):1–11.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. •• Heritier H, Vienneau D, Foraster M, Eze IC, Schaffner E, Thiesse L, et al. Transportation noise exposure and cardiovascular mortality: a nationwide cohort study from Switzerland. Eur J Epidemiol. 2017;32(4):307–15. This very large nationwide study also adresses the lack of prospective studies evaluating the effect of aircraft noise on cardiovascular disease mortality. This study was able to show the individual effect of aircraft noise while accounting for the other two sources of transporation noise (rail and road). The study also introduced a novel metric, which quantified the contribution of individual noise events above background.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Evrard AS, Lefevre M, Champelovier P, Lambert J, Laumon B. Does aircraft noise exposure increase the risk of hypertension in the population living near airports in France? Occup Environ Med. 2017;74(2):123–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. •• Seidler A, Wagner M, Schubert M, Droge P, Pons-Kuhnemann J, Swart E, et al. Myocardial infarction risk due to aircraft, road, and rail traffic noise. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2016;113(24):407–14. This study is related to Seidler A et al., 2016a. This large case-control study evaluates the relationship of myocardial infarction to exposure to three sources of transportation noise.

  22. Correia AW, Peters JL, Levy JI, Melly S, Dominici F. Residential exposure to aircraft noise and hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases: multi-airport retrospective study. BMJ. 2013;347:f5561.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Floud S, Blangiardo M, Clark C, de Hoogh K, Babisch W, Houthuijs D, et al. Exposure to aircraft and road traffic noise and associations with heart disease and stroke in six European countries: a cross-sectional study. Environ Health. 2013;12:89.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Hansell AL, Blangiardo M, Fortunato L, Floud S, de Hoogh K, Fecht D, et al. Aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease near Heathrow airport in London: small area study. BMJ. 2013;347:f5432.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Meline J, Van Hulst A, Thomas F, Chaix B. Road, rail, and air transportation noise in residential and workplace neighborhoods and blood pressure (RECORD Study). Noise Health. 2015;17(78):308–19.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Vienneau D, Perez L, Schindler C, Lieb C, Sommer H, Probst-Hensch N, et al. Years of life lost and morbidity cases attributable to transportation noise and air pollution: a comparative health risk assessment for Switzerland in 2010. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2015;218(6):514–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Schmidt FP, Basner M, Kroger G, Weck S, Schnorbus B, Muttray A, et al. Effect of nighttime aircraft noise exposure on endothelial function and stress hormone release in healthy adults. Eur Heart J. 2013;34(45):3508–14a.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Schmidt F, Kolle K, Kreuder K, Schnorbus B, Wild P, Hechtner M, et al. Nighttime aircraft noise impairs endothelial function and increases blood pressure in patients with or at high risk for coronary artery disease. Clin Res Cardiol. 2015;104(1):23–30.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Pearson T, Campbell MJ, Maheswaran R. Acute effects of aircraft noise on cardiovascular admissions - an interrupted time-series analysis of a six-day closure of London Heathrow Airport caused by volcanic ash. Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol. 2016;18:38–43.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Stansfeld SA, Shipley M. Noise sensitivity and future risk of illness and mortality. Sci Total Environ. 2015;520:114–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Foraster M, Kunzli N, Aguilera I, Rivera M, Agis D, Vila J, et al. High blood pressure and long-term exposure to indoor noise and air pollution from road traffic. Environ Health Perspect. 2014;122(11):1193–200.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Basner M, Glatz C, Griefahn B, Penzel T, Samel A. Aircraft noise: effects on macro- and microstructure of sleep. Sleep Med. 2008;9(4):382–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Basner M, Griefahn B, Berg M. Aircraft noise effects on sleep: mechanisms, mitigation and research needs. Noise Health. 2010;12(47):95–109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Javaheri S, Redline S. Insomnia and risk of cardiovascular disease. Chest. 2017;152:435–44.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Tobaldini E, Costantino G, Solbiati M, Cogliati C, Kara T, Nobili L, et al. Sleep, sleep deprivation, autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular diseases. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017;74(Pt B):321–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Dean DA, Wang R, Jacobs DR, Duprez D, Punjabi NM, Zee PC, et al. A systematic assessment of the association of polysomnographic indices with blood pressure: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Sleep. 2014

  37. Tasali E, Leproult R, Ehrmann DA, Van Cauter E. Slow-wave sleep and the risk of type 2 diabetes in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105(3):1044–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Buxton OM, Cain SW, O’Connor SP, Porter JH, Duffy JF, Wang W, et al. Adverse metabolic consequences in humans of prolonged sleep restriction combined with circadian disruption. Sci Transl Med. 2012;4(129):129ra43.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Leproult R, Copinschi G, Buxton O, Van Cauter E. Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening. Sleep. 1997;20(10):865–70.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Castro-Diehl C, Diez Roux AV, Redline S, Seeman T, Shrager SE, Shea S. Association of sleep duration and quality with alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenocortical axis: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015;100(8):3149–58.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Castro-Diehl C, Diez Roux AV, Redline S, Seeman T, McKinley P, Sloan R, et al. Sleep duration and quality in relation to autonomic nervous system measures: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Sleep. 2016;39:1919–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Mullington J, Hermann D, Holsboer F, Pollmacher T. Age-dependent suppression of nocturnal growth hormone levels during sleep deprivation. Neuroendocrinology. 1996;64:233–41.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Meier-Ewert HK, Ridker PM, Rifai N, Regan MM, Price NJ, Dinges DF, et al. Effect of sleep loss on C-reactive protein, an inflammatory marker of cardiovascular risk. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;18(43):678–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Mullington JM, Haack M, Toth M, Serrador JM, Meier-Ewert HK. Cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic consequences of sleep deprivation. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2009;51(4):294–302.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Irwin MR, Wang M, Campomayor CO, Collado-Hidalgo A, Cole S. Sleep deprivation and activation of morning levels of cellular and genomic markers of inflammation. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(16):1756–62.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Spiegel K, Leproult R, L’Hermite-Baleriaux M, Copinschi G, Penev PD, Van Cauter E. Leptin levels are dependent on sleep duration: relationships with sympathovagal balance, carbohydrate regulation, cortisol, and thyrotropin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89(11):5762–71.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Spiegel K, Leproult R, Tasali E, Penev P, Van Cauter E. Sleep curtailment results in decreased leptin levels and increased hunger and appetite. Sleep 2003;26:A174.

  48. Patel SR, Hu FB. Short sleep duration and weight gain: a systematic review. Obesity. 2008;16(3):643–53.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Patel SR, Blackwell T, Redline S, Ancoli-Israel S, Cauley JA, Hillier TA, et al. The association between sleep duration and obesity in older adults. Int J Obes. 2008;32(12):1825–34.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Fung MM, Peters K, Redline S, Ziegler MG, Ancoli-Israel S, Barrett-Connor E, et al. Decreased slow wave sleep increases risk of developing hypertension in elderly men. Hypertension. 2011;58(4):596–603.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Anothaisintawee T, Reutrakul S, Van Cauter E, Thakkinstian A. Sleep disturbances compared to traditional risk factors for diabetes development: systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2015;30:11–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Kwon Y, Gharib SA, Biggs ML, Jacobs DR Jr, Alonso A, Duprez D, et al. Association of sleep characteristics with atrial fibrillation: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Thorax. 2015;70:873–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Itani O, Jike M, Watanabe N, Kaneita Y. Short sleep duration and health outcomes: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression. Sleep Med. 2017;32:246–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Goodwin JL, Kaemingk KL, Fregosi RF, Rosen GM, Morgan WJ, Sherrill DL, et al. Clinical outcomes associated with sleep-disordered breathing in Caucasian and Hispanic children—the Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea study (TuCASA). Sleep. 2003;26(5):587–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Bixler EO, Vgontzas AN, Lin HM, Liao D, Calhoun S, Fedok F, et al. Blood pressure associated with sleep-disordered breathing in a population sample of children. Hypertension. 2008;52(5):841–6.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Javaheri S, Storfer-Isser A, Rosen CL, Redline S. Sleep quality and elevated blood pressure in adolescents. Circulation. 2008;118(10):1034–40.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  57. Srinivasan SR, Myers L, Berenson GS. Predictability of childhood adiposity and insulin for developing insulin resistance syndrome (syndrome X) in young adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Diabetes. 2002;51(1):204–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Jackson CL, Redline S, Emmons KM. Sleep as a potential fundamental contributor to disparities in cardiovascular health. Annu Rev Public Health. 2015;36:417–40.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  59. Franssen EA, van Wiechen CM, Nagelkerke NJ, Lebret E. Aircraft noise around a large international airport and its impact on general health and medication use. Occup Environ Med. 2004;61(5):405–13.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Haralabidis AS, Dimakopoulou K, Vigna-Taglianti F, Giampaolo M, Borgini A, Dudley ML, et al. Acute effects of night-time noise exposure on blood pressure in populations living near airports. Eur Heart J. 2008;29(5):658–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Ward-Caviness CK, Kraus WE, Blach C, Haynes CS, Dowdy E, Miranda ML, et al. Associations between residential proximity to traffic and vascular disease in a cardiac catheterization cohort. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2018;38(1):275–82.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Dorans KS, Wilker EH, Li W, Rice MB, Ljungman PL, Schwartz J, et al. Residential proximity to major roads, exposure to fine particulate matter, and coronary artery calcium: the Framingham Heart Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2016;36(8):1679–85.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Hart JE, Chiuve SE, Laden F, Albert CM. Roadway proximity and risk of sudden cardiac death in women. Circulation. 2014;130(17):1474–82.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Kirwa K, Eliot MN, Wang Y, Adams MA, Morgan CG, Kerr J, et al. Residential proximity to major roadways and prevalent hypertension among postmenopausal women: results from the Women’s Health Initiative San Diego Cohort. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014;3(5):e000727.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This report was supported by grant 13-C-AJFE-BU and Interagency Agreement DTFAVP-15-X-00090 from the Federal Aviation Administration and grants R01-ES025791 and R01-ES020871 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 710 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Junenette L. Peters & Jonathan I. Levy

  2. Volpe National Transportation System Center, US Department of Transportation, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Christopher D. Zevitas, Aaron Hastings & Christopher J. Roof

  3. Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Susan Redline

  4. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Susan Redline

  5. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Susan Redline

  6. Office of Environment and Energy, Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, USA

    Natalia Sizov

  7. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jaime E. Hart

  8. Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Jaime E. Hart

  9. Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA

    Gregory A. Wellenius

Authors
  1. Junenette L. Peters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher D. Zevitas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Susan Redline
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Aaron Hastings
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Natalia Sizov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jaime E. Hart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jonathan I. Levy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Christopher J. Roof
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Gregory A. Wellenius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Junenette L. Peters.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Junenette L. Peters and Gregory A. Wellenius reports grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and grants from the Nation Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, during the conduct of the study.

Aaron Hastings, Christopher J. Roof, and Christopher D. Zevitas reports funding from the US Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Transportation/Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, during the conduct of the study.

Susan Redline and Natalia Sizov declare no conflicts of interest.

Dr. Jaime E. Hart reports grants from Federal Aviation Administration, during the conduct of the study; Jonathan I. Levy reports grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and grants from the National Institutes of Health, during the conduct of the study.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Environmental Epidemiology

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peters, J.L., Zevitas, C.D., Redline, S. et al. Aviation Noise and Cardiovascular Health in the United States: a Review of the Evidence and Recommendations for Research Direction. Curr Epidemiol Rep 5, 140–152 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-018-0151-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-018-0151-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation