HYENA - Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports. A European study on health effects of aircraft noise

Epidemiological studies carried out in adults suggest a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases for subjects exposed to high levels of road traffic noise. Less information is known with respect to aircraft noise. A new study has been set up to investigate the associations between aircraft noise, road traffic noise and blood pressure, including hypertension. Clinical blood pressure measurements are carried out in the subjects' homes. Annoyance, type of housing, health status, modifiers of noise exposure and potentially confounding factors, including job condition, smoking and other lifestyle factors, are assessed by questionnaire in a personal interview. To assess the combined effects of both noise factors, the exposures to road and aircraft noise will be modeled with respect to the facades of the dwellings, using available data from the communities (traffic counts, noise maps, etc.) and airport operating data from airport authorities (fleet composition, flight track, etc.). Altogether 6,000 subjects (men and women, 45-70 years of age) are being recruited, who live in the vicinity of 6 major European airports. The subjects were randomly selected using existing noise contours around the airports. In a sub-sample, the stress hormone cortisol is analyzed in the saliva of the participants. Also, the acute effects of aircraft noise on blood pressure changes are studied in a sub-sample of subjects who live near airports with considerable numbers of night-flights. Air pollution will be modeled for four airports to explore interactions between air pollution and noise. The project is funded by a grant from the European Commission.