Why living near an airport may be bad for your health
The risks of stroke, heart and circulatory disease are higher in areas with significant aircraft noise, researchers say.
Their study of 3.6 million residents near London’s Heathrow Airport suggested the risks were 10-20% higher in areas with the highest levels of aircraft noise.
The team’s findings are published in the British Medical Journal and were reported by the BBC.
They agreed with other experts that noise was not necessarily to blame and more work was needed.
Their work suggests a higher risk for both hospital admissions and deaths from stroke, heart and circulatory disease for the 2% of the study – about 70,000 people – who lived where the aircraft noise was loudest.
The lead author, Dr Anna Hansell, from Imperial College London, said: "The exact role that noise exposure may play in ill health is not well established.
"However, it is plausible that it might be contributing – for example, by raising blood pressure or by disturbing people’s sleep."
Heathrow Airport’s director of sustainability, Matt Gorman, said: "We are already taking significant steps to tackle the issue of noise.
"The number of people affected by noise has fallen by 90% since the 1970s, despite the number of flights almost doubling."
A separate study, also published this week, demonstrates a higher rate of admission to hospital with cardiovascular problems for people living near 89 airports in the US.
Ian Jarrett
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