Does long-term exposure to road, rail, and aircraft traffic noise affect non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality?
Environ Pollut · 2020 · PMID 33307398 · DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116222
Long-term road traffic noise may be weakly associated with ischemic heart disease mortality, but evidence for other mortality outcomes and traffic noise sources is generally weak.
The question
Does long-term exposure to road, rail, and aircraft traffic noise affect non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality?
What they tested
The study aimed to update the evidence base regarding the association between long-term traffic noise exposure and mortality outcomes.
How they did it
A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following PRISMA guidelines, searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE for literature published between January 1, 2000, and October 5, 2020. Thirteen studies were selected, and risk estimates were converted to per 10 dB higher L for each traffic source. Inverse-Variance heterogeneity (I-Vhet) meta-analysis was used to pool risk estimates, with sensitivity and subgroup analyses performed.
What they found
For road traffic noise, the pooled relative risk (RR) per 10 dB higher L for non-accidental mortality was 1.01 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.05), for CVD mortality was 1.01 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.05), for ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality was 1.03 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.08), and for stroke mortality was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.14). A possible threshold of 53 dB was visually suggested for CVD-related mortality from road traffic noise. Pooled estimates for aircraft noise were based on fewer studies and varied by outcome.
| Non-accidental mortality | 1.01 | |
|---|---|---|
| CVD mortality | 1.01 | |
| IHD mortality | 1.03 | |
| Stroke mortality | 1.05 |
The chart shows the pooled relative risk (RR) for different mortality outcomes per 10 dB higher L of road traffic noise exposure.
What it means
Evidence for long-term exposure to traffic noise on mortality remains weak, with the exception of the association between road traffic noise and IHD mortality. The overall quality of evidence was generally very low to low, except for CVD or IHD mortality, which was rated as moderate.
Limitations
The overall quality of evidence for most meta-analyses was rated as very low to low. Pooled estimates for aircraft noise were based on fewer studies.
The paper at a glance
| Title | Long-term exposure to traffic noise and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis |
|---|---|
| Journal | Environ Pollut |
| Year | 2020 |
| PMID | 33307398 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116222 ↗ |
| Topic | Cardiovascular & vascular aging |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
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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.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). Does long-term exposure to road, rail, and aircraft traffic noise affect non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality? [Plain-English summary of Environ Pollut 2020, PMID 33307398, DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116222]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d33307398.html@misc{magellan_d33307398,
title = {Does long-term exposure to road, rail, and aircraft traffic noise affect non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/d33307398.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 33307398; DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116222; Environ Pollut 2020. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
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