Short-term association between road traffic noise and healthcare demand generated by Parkinson's disease in Madrid, Spain.
To analyse whether there is a short-term association between road traffic noise in the city of Madrid and Parkinson's disease (PD)-related demand for healthcare.



Time-series analysis (2008-2009) using variables of analysis linked to emergency and daily PD-related demand for healthcare (ICD-10: G20-G21), namely, PD-hospital admissions (HAs), PD-outpatient visits (OVs) and PD-emergency medical calls in Madrid. The noise pollution measurements used were Leqd, equivalent sound level for the daytime hours (from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.), and Leqn, equivalent sound level for night time hours (from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.) in dB(A). We controlled for temperature, pollution, trends and seasons, and used the Poisson regression model to calculate relative risk (RR).



The association between Leqd and HAs was found to be linear. Leqd and Leqn at lag 0.1 and temperature at lags 1 and 5 were the only environmental variables associated with increased PD-related healthcare demand. The RR (lag 0) for Leqd and HA was 1.07 (1.04-1.09), the RR (lag 0) for Leqd and OV was 1.28 (1.12-1.45), and the RR (lags 0.1) for Leqn and emergency medical calls was 1.46 (1.06-2.01).



The above results indicate that road traffic noise is a risk factor for PD exacerbation. Measures to reduce noise-exposure levels could result in a lower PD-related healthcare demand.
National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: j.diaz@isciii.es.
Julio
J
Díaz
National Centre for Epidemiology, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; CIBER de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.
Pablo
P
Martínez-Martín
National Centre for Epidemiology, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; CIBER de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.
Carmen
C
Rodríguez-Blázquez
SUMMA 112, Madrid, Spain.
Blanca
B
Vázquez
National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC), Madrid, Spain.
Maria João
MJ
Forjaz
National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain.
Cristina
C
Ortiz
National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain.
Rocío
R
Carmona
National School of Public Health, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain.
Cristina
C
Linares
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002947:Cities; D004630:Emergencies / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D065186:Interrupted Time Series Analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009624:Noise, Transportation; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health
Demanda de atención médica; Enfermedad de Parkinson; Hospital admissions; Ingresos hospitalarios; Outpatient care demand; Parkinson's disease; Road traffic noise; Ruido de tráfico; Series temporales; Time series