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billion), the study’s authors conclude. Source: Harding, A-H, Frost, G. A., Tan, E. & Tsuchiya, A. (2013). Te cost of hypertension-related ill-health attributable to environmental noise. Noise & Health. 67 (15): 437-445. DOI: 10.4103/1463- 1741.121253. Contact: anne-helen. harding@hsl.gsi.gov.uk Teme(s): Noise, Environment and health “…the researchers set out to evaluate how exposure to day-time noise above recommended levels affected the prevalence of abnormally high blood pressure and associated health complications of the UK population” Exposure to noise pollution is a widespread problem - in 1996 the European Commission estimated that 20% of the EU population were likely to sufer negative impacts to their health or well-being due to noise. In the UK, a government study estimated that 54% of the population was exposed to day-time noise pollution above recommended levels of LAeq 16hr 55 A-weighted decibels – a unit which measures sound in a way similar to the human hearing system, averaged over a 16-hour period. Environmental noise has been linked to a number of diferent health problems including high blood pressure. Tis can, in turn, increase the risk of other health problems such as heart disease or stroke. For this study, the researchers set out to evaluate how exposure to day-time noise above recommended levels afected the prevalence of abnormally high blood pressure and associated health complications of the UK population. Tey focused on three health problems most strongly associated with high blood pressure: heart disease, stroke and dementia (vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease). To estimate levels of noise pollution, 1160 sites were monitored across the country between 2000 and 20015 . Tese data were then combined with information on the age and sex of UK residents, as these factors can infuence health risk. Te researchers then calculated the added health problems that were predicted as a result of the noise pollution exposure for groups of diferent ages or sexes and multiplied this by the number of people in each group. Te results suggested that exposure to noise levels above recommended levels resulted in an additional 1169 cases of dementia, 788 cases of stroke and 542 cases of heart attack in the UK over the course of a single year. 5 Tese sites were monitored by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) To calculate the cost of these health impacts the researchers used ‘quality adjusted life years’ (QALYs). Te QALY takes into account quality of life by assessing not only the total number of years of life but also how many years might be spent coping with a non-life threatening illness. For example, an individual who lives for 70 years but only has 60% of full health would have 42 QALYs. Using a standard government fgure of £60 000 (€74 002) for the ‘value’ of a single year of healthy life, the researchers calculated that the health impacts of exposure to noise above LAeq 16hr 55 A-weighted decibels cost £1.09 billion (€1.34 billion), with dementia accounting for 44% of this fgure. Te researchers note that these are intangible, or invisible, ‘costs’ arising from loss of a healthy life (see standard fgure above), rather than the wider costs to society, such as healthcare. If these latter costs were to be included, the fgures would likely be substantially higher; for instance, previous research has estimated that 99% of the costs of dementia are associated with healthcare and informal care and only 1% with loss of healthy life. NOISE IMPACTS ON HEALTH 8 Aircra" noise at night can result in dysfunction of blood vessels and cause long-term cardiovascular disease Recent research into the impact of different levels of noise on 75 volunteers, reveals that disturbed sleep caused by night-time aircra! noise can damage blood vessels and increase the levels of stress hormones in the body. As these physical changes are potential pathways to high blood pressure, heart and circulatory disease over the long term, reducing night-time aircra! noise is important for preventing cardiovascular disease in people living near airports. Aircraft noise tends to be more annoying and disruptive to sleep than road and rail trafc noise, and long-term night-time exposure to aircraft noise is implicated in cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks and strokes) more than day-time exposure to aircraft noise. People need sleep to maintain normal good health and this depends not only on the length of a night’s sleep but also its quality. Repeated noise disturbances, with or without waking up, interrupt the restorative powers of sleep, and cause a person’s blood pressure to fuctuate in response to the noise. In this study, the researchers tested the impact of nighttime aircraft noise on 75 healthy volunteers aged between 20 and 60 years. All the participants were exposed to recordings of diferent patterns of aircraft noise in their own homes. On one night the volunteers were exposed to background noise, as a control, and on the other two nights they were exposed to repeated aircraft noise either 30 or 60 times during the night. Volunteers kept to their normal sleep patterns and on the nights of exposure to aircraft noise, the noise event sequence lasted for 415 minutes. Te researchers monitored the blood pressure and heart rate of the volunteers during the night. Te following morning, the volunteers visited a laboratory 

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