A study has suggested aircraft noise raises blood pressure in people living near airports.

Researchers from Imperial College in London recruited 140 volunteers living around several major European airports, including London Heathrow, and remotely recorded their blood pressure at 15-minute intervals.

On analysing this, they found volunteers' blood pressure rose when they were exposed to noises in their bedroom louder than 35 decibels.

More specifically, the researchers said that whenever an aircraft passed overhead systolic blood pressure increased by an average of 6.2 mmHg, while average diastolic blood pressure rose by 7.4 mmHg.

These were greater increases in blood pressure than those caused by other noises, such as road traffic.
Researchers also found that the louder the noise, the greater the rate of the blood pressure increase.

People Living Near Airports At Greater Risk of Hypertension

The research, published in the European Heart Journal, was carried out by Imperial College as part of a project called Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA), a four-year study which is designed to explore the health effects of being exposed to aircraft noise.

The HYENA team had previously conducted a study which said that people living underneath the flightpaths of major European airports for 5 years or longer are at greater risk of developing hypertension - high blood pressure - than people living in quieter areas.

The researchers believe this, together with the new study, shows that living near airports "almost doubles the risk" of suffering from high blood pressure.

Dr Lars Jarup, who led the research team, said: "We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people's health."

He added: "Measures need to be taken to reduce noise levels from aircraft, in particular during night-time, in order to protect the health of people living near airports."

Stress Hormone Cortisol Reacts To Aircraft Noise

The research team said the reason why aircraft noise tends to raise blood pressure is unknown. They said they plan further tests to investigate why it occurred.

One theory put forward is that the brain reacts to noise by releasing more of the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn raises blood pressure.

The study's volunteers lived around six major European hubs - London Heathrow Airport (UK), Amsterdam-Schiphol (Netherlands), Berlin-Tagel (Germany), Milan-Malpensa (Italy), Athens (Greece) and Stockholm Arlanda (Sweden).

Source - Airport International's Aviation Correspondent

Recent Related News Items:

Airport Noise Issues -

Defra Releases UK Airport Noise Maps

Report on Heathrow Airport Noise to be Published

DfT Carries Out Heathrow Airport Noise Report

Further Reading:

Products & Services -

Companies supplying Environment Services

Companies supplying Environmental Control Services