Dealing with traffic noise is annoying, but new research shows it can actually raise your blood pressure. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, analyzed data from more than 240,000 people in the British Biobank, a long-term study in the United Kingdom.
Participants were between the ages of 40 and 69 and did not have high blood pressure (aka hypertension) at the start of the study. The researchers then created estimates of road noise based on where the participants lived and followed them for about eight years.
The researchers found that people who lived near road noise were more likely to develop high blood pressure over time compared to their counterparts who lived on quieter streets. The risk of developing high blood pressure also increased the noisier the street. Worth noting: While the researchers controlled for air pollution, people who were exposed to both high levels of air pollution and high levels of traffic noise had the greatest risk of developing hypertension.
“Road traffic noise and traffic-related air pollution coexist around us,” lead study author Jing Huang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health at Peking University in Beijing, China.
High blood pressure is a common and potentially fatal condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, the two leading causes of death in the US.
Whether you live on a noisy street or are just curious, here’s what might be behind the link between traffic noise and high blood pressure and what to do if you’re worried.
How does noise affect blood pressure?
It’s important to emphasize that this study didn’t prove that traffic noise caused high blood pressure in the study participants it just found an association between the two. However, there is some data that shows this may be more than a random coincidence.
A 2021 study published in the journal Hypertension evaluated regular blood pressure measurements of more than 6,700 people over about four years and found that people who were exposed to greater levels of noise had higher blood pressure levels. They also had a greater risk of developing treatment-resistant hypertension, which is blood pressure that remains high even when someone is given three different medications.
Can noise cause high blood pressure?
Again, it’s hard to say that noise pollution actually causes high blood pressure, but there is a link.
One scientific review published in the European Cardiology Review reported that in one study, each 5-decibel increase in long-term exposure to aircraft noise was associated with an 8% increased risk of developing hypertension. The review points out that traffic noise is annoying and that chronic annoyance can lead to chronic stress… a risk factor for high blood pressure.
“There’s a lot of interplay,” says Dr. Weinberg. “If you live in cities where there is constant noise, there is never time to rest. That can actually activate blood pressure.”
What to do if you live in a noisy area ?
Experts say it’s important to do what you can to reduce your exposure to noise. “People should appreciate how noise disrupts our brains and our bodies,” says Dr. Weinberg. “Reduce this with sound barriers – thicker doors, windows or screens. Use earplugs if necessary.”
However, developing high blood pressure means more than living in a place with high traffic noise. The American Heart Association (AHA) has a list of risk factors for developing hypertension. Is part of them:
• Family history of high blood pressure
• Age (the risk of hypertension increases with age)
• Gender (men are more likely than women to have high blood pressure before age 64; women are more likely after)
• Race (Blacks tend to develop high blood pressure more than people of other races)
• Chronic kidney disease
• Lack of physical activity
• Unhealthy food
• You are overweight or obese
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Sleep apnea
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Smoking and tobacco use
• Stress
Written by: Vaishali Verma
