Wind Turbine Noise and Health, a Nationwide Prospective Study in Denmark

There is mounting concern regarding health effects from residential exposure to wind turbine noise. Small numbers and reliance on self-reported data often hamper the existing scientific literature. We are therefore conducting a register-based nationwide study of all Danes exposed to wind turbine noise since 1982, addressing potential associations of wind turbine noise with: diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, perinatal birth factors and use of medication for hypertension, sleep problems and depression.For 550.000 Danish dwellings, hourly noise exposure since 1982, has been established from detailed register data on: location and type of all (7.500) wind turbines, type-specific wind turbine noise characteristics and historical wind data. This is by far the largest study to date, of health effects from wind turbines. The first result is a detailed description of the associations between noise level and distance from wind turbines and building related factors such as: building characteristics, landscape features, neighborhood socio- economic conditions, air pollution and distance to major roads. As well as detailed individual data on factors such as age, gender, migration history, marital status, income, education, affiliation to the work market, as well as health information from national registers on all adults ever inhabiting these houses.