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Study summary · Environment, air, water & exposures

What are the effects of environmental noise exposure on the cardio-metabolic systems?

In one paragraph

Anti-Noise White-Noise Sleep System, a meta-analysis (Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018, PMID 29470452) — combining 7 longitudinal studies, a Relative Risk (RR) of 1.08 (95% CI: 1.01-1.15) per 10 dB (L) was found for the association between road traffic noise and the incidence of IHD. Many studies on traffic noise and hypertension were cross-sectional and had a high risk of bias.

Source: Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018, PMID 29470452 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: high

Int J Environ Res Public Health · 2018 · PMID 29470452 · DOI 10.3390/ijerph15020379

Plain-English summary written and published by Magellan Longevity · medical review by Gabriel Radu, DO (physiatrist, NPI 1376861765). We summarize what the paper reported — we did not run this study.

The takeaway

Exposure to road traffic noise is associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease.

The question

What are the effects of environmental noise exposure on the cardio-metabolic systems?

What they tested

The study aimed to update the current state of evidence and assess its quality regarding the effects of environmental noise exposure on cardio-metabolic systems.

How they did it

A systematic review was conducted, identifying 600 references published between January 2000 and August 2015 on noise from road, rail, air traffic, and wind turbines. Sixty-one studies with exposure-response information were used for meta-analyses and quality assessment using GRADE. The most comprehensive evidence was available for road traffic noise and Ischemic Heart Diseases (IHD), combining results from 7 longitudinal studies.

What they found

Combining 7 longitudinal studies, a Relative Risk (RR) of 1.08 (95% CI: 1.01-1.15) per 10 dB (L) was found for the association between road traffic noise and the incidence of IHD. The quality of this evidence was rated as high. Evidence for other associations like transportation noise with stroke, diabetes, and obesity was limited, with quality rated from moderate to very low.

What it means

There is high-quality evidence linking road traffic noise to an increased risk of Ischemic Heart Disease. More and higher quality longitudinal studies are needed for a comprehensive assessment of noise exposure's impact on the cardiovascular and metabolic system, especially for outcomes like stroke, diabetes, and obesity.

Limitations

Many studies on traffic noise and hypertension were cross-sectional and had a high risk of bias. Only a few studies reported on associations between transportation noise and stroke, diabetes, and/or obesity, and the quality of evidence for these was rated from moderate to very low.

“road traffic noise revealed a relative risk of 1.08 per 10 dB for incidence of ischaemic heart disease”— from the published abstract, Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018

The paper at a glance

TitleWHO Environmental Noise Guidelines: Environmental Noise and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Effects: A Summary
JournalInt J Environ Res Public Health
Year2018
PMID29470452 ↗
DOI10.3390/ijerph15020379 ↗
TopicEnvironment, air, water & exposures

Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗

Where Magellan uses this paper

This citation sits behind the evidence grade on the pages below. Grades are set from the research and are independent of affiliate commissions.

Anti-Noise White-Noise Sleep System

A large epidemiological and mechanistic literature links chronic nighttime transportation noise to higher blood pressure and increased risk of ischemic heart disease, and human field and imaging studies show that simulated nocturnal traffic noise can acutely impair endothelial function and raise arterial pressure…

Anti-Noise White-Noise Sleep System

An anti-noise white-noise sleep system is a device that emits steady broadband sound to mask…

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Cite this page

These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.

APA
Magellan Longevity. (2026). What are the effects of environmental noise exposure on the cardio-metabolic systems? [Plain-English summary of Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018, PMID 29470452, DOI 10.3390/ijerph15020379]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d29470452.html
BibTeX
@misc{magellan_d29470452, title = {What are the effects of environmental noise exposure on the cardio-metabolic systems?}, author = {{Magellan Longevity}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d29470452.html}}, note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 29470452; DOI 10.3390/ijerph15020379; Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO}, urldate = {2026-08-11} }
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How this summary was made. Every section above restates what the published abstract of PMID 29470452 reports — the question, the design, the numbers, the authors’ own conclusion and their stated limitations. We do not add claims the paper did not make, and we keep negative and no-effect findings in. Magellan’s evidence grades are set from research like this and never from affiliate commissions.

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Educational information, not medical advice. This is a plain-English summary of published research; it is not a treatment recommendation and nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual studies can be wrong, and a single paper rarely settles a question. Talk to your physician before acting on any research, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medication.