Summary: A new study finds that long-term exposure to high levels of road traffic noise is linked to a higher risk of obesity.
Source: ISGLOBAL.
Long-term exposure to road traffic noise appears to increase the likelihood of obesity, according to a study that included researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). The findings were published in Environment International.
Researchers examined whether newer, larger datasets would confirm earlier, smaller studies that suggested a link between traffic noise and markers of obesity. The analysis used data from 3,796 adults enrolled in the population-based Swiss SAPALDIA cohort who attended at least two follow-up visits between 2001 and 2011. The study relied on objective health measures — including weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and body fat percentage — and combined those measures with modeled estimates of transportation noise exposure developed as part of the Swiss SiRENE project.
“Our analysis indicates that individuals exposed to the highest levels of road traffic noise face a greater risk of obesity,” says Maria Foraster, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study. “We observed that each 10 dB increase in average noise level corresponded to approximately a 17% higher likelihood of obesity.”
The study also assessed noise from aircraft and railway traffic. No consistent associations were found for aircraft noise. Long-term exposure to railway noise showed an association with an increased risk of becoming overweight, but not with obesity itself.
The research used two complementary approaches to strengthen its conclusions. A cross-sectional analysis examined participants’ measurements at a single time point to identify relationships with objective markers of adiposity. A longitudinal design tracked participants over time to assess how obesity risk evolved during the study period. Results linking road traffic noise to increased adiposity were consistent across both approaches. Overweight status was associated with traffic noise in the cross-sectional analysis only, while the longitudinal analysis showed an increased risk of developing obesity over time with higher road traffic noise exposure. Continuous BMI change measured longitudinally did not show a clear association in this study.
“By reproducing similar results in a different population with robust, objective measures, our findings add evidence that road traffic noise may influence obesity risk,” explains Maria Foraster. “However, additional long-term studies are needed to confirm these associations and to clarify inconsistencies that remain in the data, so the scientific community can reach a consensus on underlying mechanisms.”
Noise pollution is a widespread public health concern. Chronic exposure to noise raises stress levels and disrupts sleep, and both stress and sleep disturbance can alter hormones, blood pressure, glucose metabolism, and appetite. Over time, these physiological effects may contribute to sustained weight gain and metabolic dysfunction. “Persistent traffic noise could therefore be a contributing factor to cardiometabolic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity,” Foraster notes. “Reducing road traffic noise may be an additional strategy to help address the obesity epidemic.”
Funding: This study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment.
Source and publisher information: Report prepared by Pau Rubio on behalf of ISGLOBAL. Published by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image credit: Nabeel Syed.
Original research article: Foraster M, Eze IC, Vienneau D, Schaffner E, Jeong A, Héritier H, Rudzik F, Thiesse L, Pieren R, Brink M, Cajochen C, Wunderli JM, Röösli M, Probst-Hensch N. “Long-term exposure to transportation noise and its association with adiposity markers and development of obesity.” Environment International. Published October 18, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.09.057
• Long-term exposure to road traffic noise is linked to higher measures of adiposity and an increased risk of obesity in this large, population-based cohort.
• Railway noise was associated with a higher risk of overweight but not obesity; no clear associations were observed for aircraft noise.
• Associations were robust to adjustment for traffic-related air pollution and other confounders.
• Potential mechanisms include sleep disruption, stress responses, hormonal changes, and altered glucose metabolism and appetite, which over time can contribute to weight gain and cardiometabolic risk.
• Public health strategies that reduce road traffic noise may help mitigate obesity risk and related metabolic diseases.
Abstract
Long-term exposure to transportation noise and its association with adiposity markers and development of obesity
The contribution of different transportation noise sources to metabolic disorders such as obesity remains understudied. We evaluated associations of long-term exposure to road, railway and aircraft noise with measures of obesity and its subphenotypes using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs.
We assessed 3,796 participants from the population-based Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases (SAPALDIA) who attended visits in 2001 (SAP2) and 2010/2011 (SAP3), aged 29–72 at SAP2. At SAP2 we measured body mass index (BMI). At SAP3 we measured BMI, waist circumference and body fat percentage and derived overweight, central and general obesity outcomes. Longitudinally for BMI, we derived change in BMI, incidence of overweight and obesity and a combined outcome. We assigned source-specific 5-year mean noise levels before visits and during follow-up at the most exposed dwelling façade (Lden, dB), using Swiss noise models for 2001 and 2011 and participants’ residential histories. Models were adjusted for relevant confounders, including traffic-related air pollution.
Exposure to road traffic noise was significantly associated with adiposity subphenotypes cross-sectionally and with increased risk of obesity longitudinally. Railway noise was related to increased risk of overweight. Cross-sectional analyses revealed stronger associations between road traffic noise and BMI among participants with cardiovascular disease and a relationship between railway noise and BMI among those reporting poor sleep. Associations were independent of other noise sources and air pollution and were robust to adjustment. No associations were observed for aircraft noise.
Long-term exposure to transportation noise, particularly road traffic noise, may increase the risk of obesity and could represent a pathway to cardiometabolic and other chronic diseases.