Aircraft noise and ischemic heart disease: an update of the evidence

Aircraft noise exposure is harmful to health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) summarized the evidence on health effects of environmental noise up to 2015. We updated the evidence by conducting a systematic review with meta-analysis including scientific literature from 01/01/2015 to 03/02/2023. The study protocol was registered a priori at PROSPERO. Three publications on incident ischaemic heart diseases (IHD) and six publications on IHD mortality met our eligibility criteria. Four studies on IHD mortality were included in the meta-analysis, revealing an increase in IHD mortality by about 9% per 10 dB Lden aircraft noise (starting point 30 dB; risk ratio RR=1.085, 95% confidence interval CI 0.997-1.181, p=0.06). For IHD incidence fewer than three comparable new studies were available. In addition, we pooled our studies with the WHO results. The risk of aircraft-noise related IHD mortality was statistically significantly increased by 7% per 10 dB Lden (RR=1.069, 95% CI 1.004-1.139, p=0.04). For IHD incidence, the pooled risk estimate was 2% per 10 dB (RR=1.020, 95% CI 0.986-1.054, p=0.25). Limit values for aircraft noise should take into account risk increases for IHD even at relatively low aircraft noise levels. We thank the Frankfurt Aircraft Noise Commission (FLK) for funding!