title: Traffic noise and cardiovascular risk: the Caerphilly and Speedwell studies, third phase--10-year follow up.
abstract: The authors tested the hypothesis that prolonged exposure to road traffic noise causes ischemic heart disease in a 10-y follow-up cohort study of middle-aged men. In the Caerphilly and Speedwell studies, 2512 and 2348 men, respectively, who were 45-59 y of age were seen in the initial cross-sectional phase and at follow-up intervals of 10 y. Adjusted odds ratios of 1.1 (95% confidence interval = 0.6, 1.9) and 0.9 (95% confidence interval = 0.6, 1.4) were found in the total cohorts. However, the relative risk was 1.3 (95% confidence interval = 0.8, 2.2) in the pooled reconstructed cohort of men who were followed for 6 y (i.e., from phase 2 to phase 3) and for whom room orientation and window-opening habits could be considered. Furthermore, the relative risk increased to 1.6 (95% confidence interval = 0.9, 3.0) in the subsample of men who had lived at least 15 y in their present homes at the time of recruitment. Living adjacent to streets with high traffic noise levels was associated with an adjusted (for covariates) increase in relative risk of 1.01-1.02/y in residence--a result that was only borderline significant (p < .10).
authors.affiliation: Institute for Water, Soil, and Air Hygiene, Federal Environmental Agency, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Babisch
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ising
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gallacher
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Sweetnam
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Elwood
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004739:England; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009624:Noise, Transportation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014852:Wales