Is road traffic noise linked to heart disease?

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1. 1

   Long-term exposure to traffic noise and the incidence of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

   Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine (Xia et al.)Published May 28, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “The quality of the research studies was evaluated based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale methodologically. The association was estimated by data pooling with fixed-or random-effect models and estimated by calculating the HR and its 95%CI.Results11 cohort studies with 1,353,481 participants were included into the present research. The results indicated that in cohorts analyzing traffic noise as a binary variable, higher exposure was significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension (HR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01-1.13, P = 0.03). This finding is highly consistent with the meta-analysis results where traffic noise was treated as a continuous variable (HR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02-1.04, P ConclusionLong-term exposure to traffic noise is significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension in the adult population. Incorporating environmental noise assessment and mitigation measures into public health strategies can contribute to the comprehensive management of hypertension in the population.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251270952.”

2. 2

   Exposure-response relationship between transportation noise and cardiovascular disease outcomes: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

   Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology (Gonzato et al.)Published Apr 6, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “increase in myocardial infarction outcomes (RR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.01-1.01, p-value SignificanceThis study adds to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive comparison of the association between long-term exposure to transportation noise sources and CVD outcomes using both conventional and BoP methodologies.Impact statementThis is the first study to apply the conventional meta-regression and Burden of Proof methodologies to systematically quantify and evaluate associations between long-term exposure to transportation noise sources (i.e., road traffic, railway, and aircraft) and combined risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease outcomes, including myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and ischemic stroke. The application of these two approaches to deriving exposure-response functions provides additional insights into the quantification of the burden of disease attributable to transportation noise. Our findings using the Burden of Proof framework on transportation noise and CVD outcomes advance the integration of an additional environmental risk factor and propose new risk-outcome pairs for potential inclusion in the Global Burden of Disease study.”

3. 3

   [Noise and the heart].

   Herz (Hahad et al.)Published Jun 24, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Cardiovascular diseases are among the most extensively studied outcomes in this context. Epidemiological studies consistently demonstrate associations between long-term exposure to traffic noise and an increased risk of arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure and arrhythmias. These associations are often dose-dependent and also remain even after adjustment for air pollution. Experimental human studies provide complementary mechanistic evidence, showing that even short-term noise exposure can impair endothelial function, activate autonomic stress responses and disrupt sleep. Underlying mechanisms include activation of the sympathetic nervous system, dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, oxidative stress and inflammatory processes. Overall, the available evidence supports a stronger consideration of traffic noise as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In addition to individual-level measures to reduce exposure, population-based strategies for noise reduction are essential.”

4. 4

   Estimated health burden of environmental noise exceeds that of ambient air pollution in Ireland.

   Discover public health (Faulkner & Murphy)Published Sep 2, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Uncertainty and sensitivity were assessed by propagating parameter uncertainty in exposure-response functions and by testing the influence of key exposure-model assumptions on attributable outcomes.ResultsIn 2017, environmental noise exposure was associated with 256 attributable cases of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and 3,445 IHD DALYs; 296,471 cases of high annoyance (HA) and 5,866 HA YLDs; and 109,951 cases of high sleep disturbance (HSD) and 4,780 HSD YLDs. In total, 14,091 DALYs were attributable to noise exposure, exceeding the burden estimated for ambient air pollution and some dietary risks in comparable population-health assessments.ConclusionEnvironmental noise represents a substantial yet under-recognised public health risk in Ireland. Harmful-effects estimation provides efficient, policy-ready outputs for END reporting and action planning, while BoD estimation supports cross-risk prioritisation in public health. The findings support stronger integration of noise within national environmental health governance and routine health risk assessment.”

5. 5

   Association between long-term aircraft noise exposure and cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis with focused subgroup analyses.

   European journal of preventive cardiology (Sebastian et al.)Published Dec 1, 2025Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 with a random-effects model, pooling outcomes as odds ratios (ORs) and mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The study protocol was pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024598651). Our meta-analysis included 34 studies with a combined sample of ∼35.5 million adults aged 18 years and older, with follow-up durations ranging from 1 to 20 years. Pooled analysis revealed a statistically significant association between aircraft noise exposure and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with an OR of 1.1 (95% CI: 1.07-1.14, P ConclusionOur study demonstrates a significant association between aircraft noise exposure and increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality, with stronger association during night-time exposure. The observed increase in systolic blood pressure and higher hypertension risk in males suggest early and sex-specific cardiovascular effects. These findings highlight the importance of mitigating chronic aircraft noise exposure to reduce its long-term cardiovascular burden.”