Road traffic noise can reduce your life expectancy

A new research has found that long-term exposure to road traffic noise may lead to an increased number of heart strokes and deaths.

The research led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Imperial College London and King's College London explained that as per their study, deaths were four percent more common among adults and the elderly in areas with day time road traffic noise of more than 60dB compared to areas with less than 55dB.

The researchers say the deaths are most likely to be linked to heart or cardiovascular disease and could be due to increased blood pressure, sleep problems and stress from the noise.

On the other hand, study suggested that adults living in areas with the noisiest daytime traffic were 5 percent more likely to be admitted to hospital for stroke compared to those who lived in quieter areas i.e. less than 55dB.

Dr Jaana Halonen, lead author said that road traffic noise had previously been associated with sleep problems and increased blood pressure, but their recent study showed a link with deaths and strokes and suggested that reductions in traffic noise could be beneficial to the health.

Dr. Anna Hansell, co-author, shared that just with the help of research the individual risks of noise could not be standardized, but these were likely to be small in comparison with known risk factors for circulatory diseases like diet, smoking, lack of exercise, and medical conditions such as raised blood pressure and diabetes.

The research is published in the European Heart Journal.