Association between environmental noise and subjective symptoms related to cardiovascular diseases among elderly individuals in Japan

<div><p>Noise in housing environments may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); however, the most significant sources of noise among elderly individuals remain poorly understood. A nationwide cross-sectional study comprised of 6,181 elderly people (age ≥ 65 years) was conducted using a web-based self-reported questionnaire in 2014. Questions pertaining to CVD-related subjective symptoms within the past year addressed symptoms of chest pain, disturbances in pulse, acute impaired tongue movement, limb paralysis, and foot pain or numbness during walking. Questions concerning noise included awakening during the night due to noise, automobile, neighborhood, construction, railway, and aircraft noise. The multivariable analyses revealed that all symptoms were significantly associated with awakening during the night due to noise. Automobile, construction, railway, and aircraft noise were significantly associated with more CVD-related symptoms at nighttime than at daytime. Our results suggest that noise at nighttime is an important risk factor for CVDs. Although several different sources of environmental noise, including automobile, neighborhood, construction, railway, and aircraft noise were found to be significantly associated with CVD-related symptoms, the strongest association was observed for construction noise, followed by neighborhood and automobile noise. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for construction noise at nighttime were 1.12 (1.06–1.19) with disturbances in pulse, 1.21 (1.08–1.35) in acute impaired tongue movement, 1.25 (1.15–1.36) in limb paralysis, and 1.19 (1.12–1.28) in foot pain or numbness during walking. The associations with railway and aircraft noise were found to be weaker than those with automobile, neighborhood, and construction noise. Our study suggests that CVD-related symptoms may exhibit a greater association with construction, neighborhood, and automobile noise than with railway and aircraft noise.</p></div

Multivariable regression analysis for the association between CVDs, noise nuisance, and environmental noise annoyances.

<p>Multivariable regression analysis for the association between CVDs, noise nuisance, and environmental noise annoyances.</p

Multivariable regression analysis for the association between CVDs, noise nuisance, and environmental noise annoyances.

<p>Multivariable regression analysis for the association between CVDs, noise nuisance, and environmental noise annoyances.</p

Participant characteristics by noise exposure status (<i>n</i> = 6181).

<p>Participant characteristics by noise exposure status (<i>n</i> = 6181).</p

Univariate analysis of the association between CVDs, noise nuisance, and environmental noise annoyances.

<p>Univariate analysis of the association between CVDs, noise nuisance, and environmental noise annoyances.</p

Prevalence of CVDs under treatment and related subjective symptoms within the past year.

<p>Prevalence of CVDs under treatment and related subjective symptoms within the past year.</p

Ratings of hedonic (A) and irritating (B) odours by MCS patients (<i>n</i> = 12) and controls (<i>n</i> = 11) after the olfactory stimulation.

<p>Abbreviations: MO: mandarin orange, Pf: perfume, NO: non-odorant, JC: Japanese cypress, Mt: menthol. Numbers in parentheses indicate orders of ten repetitions (1 to 10). Statistically significant differences between groups are indicated. ^*<i>p</i><0.05, ^**<i>p</i><0.01.</p

Results of the <i>t</i>-test in terms of average values for all channels (1 to 42) comparing z scores for oxyHb between MCS patients and controls.

<p>Values are expressed as means (± standard deviations).</p><p>*Significant at <i>p</i><0.05.</p><p>Abbreviations: MO, mandarin orange; Pf, perfume; NO, non-odorant; JC, Japanese cypress; Mt, menthol. Numbers in parentheses in column 1 indicate the order of the 10 repetitions (1 to 10).</p

Average <i>t</i> value of each channel comparing z scores for oxyHb between MCS patients (<i>n</i> = 12) and controls (<i>n</i> = 11).

<p>Statistically significant differences between groups are indicated as underlined values. ^*<i>p</i><0.05, ^**<i>p</i><0.01. Significant tendencies are indicated: ⁺<i>p</i><0.10.</p