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Héritier H, Vienneau D, Foraster M, Eze IC, Schaffner E, de Hoogh K, Thiesse L, Rudzik F, Habermacher M, Köpfli M, Pieren R, Brink M, Cajochen C, Wunderli JM, Probst-Hensch N, Röösli M. A systematic analysis of mutual effects of transportation noise and air pollution exposure on myocardial infarction mortality: a nationwide cohort study in Switzerland. Eur Heart J 2020; 40:598-603. [PMID: 30357335 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehy650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2018] [Revised: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS The present study aimed to disentangle the risk of the three major transportation noise sources-road, railway, and aircraft traffic-and the air pollutants NO2 and PM2.5 on myocardial infarction (MI) mortality in Switzerland based on high quality/fine resolution exposure modelling. METHODS AND RESULTS We modelled long-term exposure to outdoor road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise levels, as well as NO2 and PM2.5 concentration for each address of the 4.40 million adults (>30 years) in the Swiss National Cohort (SNC). We investigated the association between transportation noise/air pollution exposure and death due to MI during the follow-up period 2000-08, by adjusting noise [Lden(Road), Lden(Railway), and Lden(Air)] estimates for NO2 and/or PM2.5 and vice versa by multipollutant Cox regression models considering potential confounders. Adjusting noise risk estimates of MI for NO2 and/or PM2.5 did not change the hazard ratios (HRs) per 10 dB increase in road traffic (without air pollution: 1.032, 95% CI: 1.014-1.051, adjusted for NO2 and PM2.5: 1.034, 95% CI: 1.014-1.055), railway traffic (1.020, 95% CI: 1.007-1.033 vs. 1.020, 95% CI: 1.007-1.033), and aircraft traffic noise (1.025, 95% CI: 1.006-1.045 vs. 1.025, 95% CI: 1.005-1.046). Conversely, noise adjusted HRs for air pollutants were lower than corresponding estimates without noise adjustment. Hazard ratio per 10 μg/m³ increase with and without noise adjustment were 1.024 (1.005-1.043) vs. 0.990 (0.965-1.016) for NO2 and 1.054 (1.013-1.093) vs. 1.019 (0.971-1.071) for PM2.5. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that transportation noise is associated with MI mortality, independent from air pollution. Air pollution studies not adequately adjusting for transportation noise exposure may overestimate the cardiovascular disease burden of air pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harris Héritier
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Danielle Vienneau
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Foraster
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland.,ISGlobal, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UFP), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), Doctor Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP); Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5. Pabellón 11. Planta 0, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ikenna C Eze
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuel Schaffner
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kees de Hoogh
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Laurie Thiesse
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland.,Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Basel, Birmannsgasse 8, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Franziska Rudzik
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland.,Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Basel, Birmannsgasse 8, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Micha Köpfli
- n-sphere AG, Räffelstrasse 29, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Reto Pieren
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrase 129, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Mark Brink
- Federal Office for the Environment, Division of Noise and Non-Ionizing Radiation, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christian Cajochen
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland.,Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Basel, Birmannsgasse 8, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jean Marc Wunderli
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrase 129, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Probst-Hensch
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Röösli
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, Basel, Switzerland.,University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, Basel, Switzerland
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Vienneau D, Héritier H, Foraster M, Eze IC, Schaffner E, Thiesse L, Rudzik F, Habermacher M, Köpfli M, Pieren R, Brink M, Cajochen C, Wunderli JM, Probst-Hensch N, Röösli M. Façades, floors and maps - Influence of exposure measurement error on the association between transportation noise and myocardial infarction. Environ Int 2019; 123:399-406. [PMID: 30622064 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2018] [Revised: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/08/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epidemiological research on transportation noise uses different exposure assessment strategies based on façade point estimates or regulatory noise maps. The degree of exposure measurement error and subsequent potentially biased risk estimates related to exposure definition is unclear. We aimed to evaluate associations between transportation noise exposure and myocardial infarction (MI) mortality considering: assumptions about residential floor, façade point selection (loudest, quietest, nearest), façade point vs. noise map estimates, and influence of averaging exposure at coarser spatial scales (e.g. in ecological health studies). METHODS Lden from the façade points were assigned to >4 million eligible adults in the Swiss National Cohort for the best match residential floor (reference), middle floor, and first floor. For selected floors, the loudest and quietest exposed façades per dwelling, plus the nearest façade point to the residential geocode, were extracted. Exposure was also assigned from 10 × 10 m noise maps, using "buffers" from 50 to 500 m derived from the maps, and by aggregating the maps to larger areas. Associations between road traffic and railway noise and MI mortality were evaluated by multi-pollutant Cox regression models, adjusted for aircraft noise, NO2 and socio-demographic confounders, following individuals from 2000 to 2008. Bias was calculated to express differences compared to the reference. RESULTS Hazard ratios (HRs) for the best match residential floor were 1.05 (1.02-1.07) and 1.03 (1.01-1.05) per IQR (11.3 and 15.0 dB) for road traffic and railway noise, respectively. In most situations, comparing the alternative exposure definitions to this reference resulted in attenuated HRs. For example, assuming everyone resided on the middle or everyone on first floor introduced little bias (%Bias in excess risk: -1.9 to 4.4 road traffic and -4.4 to 10.7 railway noise). Using the noise grids generated a bias of approximately -26% for both sources. Averaging the maps at a coarser spatial scale led to bias from -19.4 to -105.1% for road traffic and 17.6 to -34.3% for railway noise and inflated the confidence intervals such that some HRs were no longer statistically significant. CONCLUSION Changes in spatial scale introduced more bias than changes in residential floor. Use of noise maps to represent residential exposure may underestimate noise-induced health effects, in particular for small-scale heterogeneously distributed road traffic noise in urban settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Vienneau
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Harris Héritier
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Foraster
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ikenna C Eze
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuel Schaffner
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Laurie Thiesse
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Franziska Rudzik
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Reto Pieren
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dubendorf, Switzerland
| | - Mark Brink
- Federal Office for the Environment, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christian Cajochen
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jean Marc Wunderli
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dubendorf, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Probst-Hensch
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Röösli
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Wunderli JM, Zellmann C, Köpfli M, Habermacher M. sonAIR – a GIS-Integrated Spectral Aircraft Noise Simulation Tool for Single Flight Prediction and Noise Mapping. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.3813/aaa.919180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Héritier H, Vienneau D, Foraster M, Eze IC, Schaffner E, Thiesse L, Ruzdik F, Habermacher M, Köpfli M, Pieren R, Schmidt-Trucksäss A, Brink M, Cajochen C, Wunderli JM, Probst-Hensch N, Röösli M. Diurnal variability of transportation noise exposure and cardiovascular mortality: A nationwide cohort study from Switzerland. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2018; 221:556-563. [PMID: 29482991 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Revised: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most epidemiological noise studies consider 24 h average noise exposure levels. Our aim was to exploratively analyze the impact of noise exposure at different time windows during day and night on cardiovascular mortality. METHODS We generated Switzerland-wide exposure models for road traffic, railway and aircraft noise for different time windows for the year 2001. Combined noise source equivalent continuous sound levels (Leq) for different time windows at the most exposed façade were assigned to each of the 4.41 million Swiss National Cohort adult participants. Follow-up period was from 2000 to 2008. Hazard ratios (HR) of noise effects on various cardiovascular primary causes of death were computed by Cox regression models adjusted for potential confounders and NO2 levels. RESULTS For most cardiovascular causes of death we obtained indications for a diurnal pattern. For ischemic heart disease the highest HR was observed for the core night hours from 01 h to 05 h (HR per standard deviation of Leq: 1.025, 95% CI: 1.016-1.034) and lower HR for the daytime 07 h to 19 h (1.018 [1.009-1.028]). Heart failure and daytime Leq yielded the highest HR (1.047 [1.027-1.068]). CONCLUSION For acute cardiovascular diseases, nocturnal intermittent noise exposure tended to be more relevant than daytime exposure, whereas it was the opposite for chronic conditions such as heart failure most strongly associated with continuous daytime noise. This suggests that for acute diseases sleep is an important mediator for health consequences of transportation noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harris Héritier
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57,4051 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Danielle Vienneau
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57,4051 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Foraster
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57,4051 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ikenna C Eze
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57,4051 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuel Schaffner
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57,4051 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Laurie Thiesse
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, 4012 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Franziska Ruzdik
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, 4012 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Micha Köpfli
- N-sphere AG, Räffelstrasse 29, 8045 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Reto Pieren
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überland Str. 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Arno Schmidt-Trucksäss
- Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mark Brink
- Federal Office for The Environment, Papiermühlestrasse 172, 3063 Ittigen, Switzerland
| | - Christian Cajochen
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, 4012 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jean Marc Wunderli
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überland Str. 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Probst-Hensch
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57,4051 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Röösli
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57,4051 Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4001 Basel, Switzerland.
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Locher B, Piquerez A, Habermacher M, Ragettli M, Röösli M, Brink M, Cajochen C, Vienneau D, Foraster M, Müller U, Wunderli JM. Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018; 15:E149. [PMID: 29346318 PMCID: PMC5800248 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15010149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Noise exposure prediction models for health effect studies normally estimate free field exposure levels outside. However, to assess the noise exposure inside dwellings, an estimate of indoor sound levels is necessary. To date, little field data is available about the difference between indoor and outdoor noise levels and factors affecting the damping of outside noise. This is a major cause of uncertainty in indoor noise exposure prediction and may lead to exposure misclassification in health assessments. This study aims to determine sound level differences between the indoors and the outdoors for different window positions and how this sound damping is related to building characteristics. For this purpose, measurements were carried out at home in a sample of 102 Swiss residents exposed to road traffic noise. Sound pressure level recordings were performed outdoors and indoors, in the living room and in the bedroom. Three scenarios-of open, tilted, and closed windows-were recorded for three minutes each. For each situation, data on additional parameters such as the orientation towards the source, floor, and room, as well as sound insulation characteristics were collected. On that basis, linear regression models were established. The median outdoor-indoor sound level differences were of 10 dB(A) for open, 16 dB(A) for tilted, and 28 dB(A) for closed windows. For open and tilted windows, the most relevant parameters affecting the outdoor-indoor differences were the position of the window, the type and volume of the room, and the age of the building. For closed windows, the relevant parameters were the sound level outside, the material of the window frame, the existence of window gaskets, and the number of windows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Locher
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise Control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland
| | - André Piquerez
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland; (A.P.); (M.R.); (M.R.); (D.V.); (M.F.)
| | | | - Martina Ragettli
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland; (A.P.); (M.R.); (M.R.); (D.V.); (M.F.)
- Centre for Chronobiology, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Röösli
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland; (A.P.); (M.R.); (M.R.); (D.V.); (M.F.)
- Centre for Chronobiology, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mark Brink
- Federal Office for the Environment, 3003 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Christian Cajochen
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland;
| | - Danielle Vienneau
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland; (A.P.); (M.R.); (M.R.); (D.V.); (M.F.)
- Centre for Chronobiology, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Foraster
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4051 Basel, Switzerland; (A.P.); (M.R.); (M.R.); (D.V.); (M.F.)
- Centre for Chronobiology, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Uwe Müller
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin, 51147 Köln, Germany;
| | - Jean Marc Wunderli
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise Control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland
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Héritier H, Vienneau D, Foraster M, Eze IC, Schaffner E, Thiesse L, Rudzik F, Habermacher M, Köpfli M, Pieren R, Brink M, Cajochen C, Wunderli JM, Probst-Hensch N, Röösli M. Transportation noise exposure and cardiovascular mortality: a nationwide cohort study from Switzerland. Eur J Epidemiol 2017; 32:307-315. [PMID: 28280950 DOI: 10.1007/s10654-017-0234-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Most studies published to date consider single noise sources and the reported noise metrics are not informative about the peaking characteristics of the source under investigation. Our study focuses on the association between cardiovascular mortality in Switzerland and the three major transportation noise sources-road, railway and aircraft traffic-along with a novel noise metric termed intermittency ratio (IR), expressing the percentage contribution of individual noise events to the total noise energy from all sources above background levels. We generated Swiss-wide exposure models for road, railway and aircraft noise for 2001. Noise from the most exposed façade was linked to geocodes at the residential floor height for each of the 4.41 million adult (>30 y) Swiss National Cohort participants. For the follow-up period 2000-2008, we investigated the association between all noise exposure variables [Lden(Road), Lden(Rail), Lden(Air), and IR at night] and various cardiovascular primary causes of death by multipollutant Cox regression models adjusted for potential confounders including NO2. The most consistent associations were seen for myocardial infarction: adjusted hazard ratios (HR) (95% CI) per 10 dB increase of exposure were 1.038 (1.019-1.058), 1.018 (1.004-1.031), and 1.026 (1.004-1.048) respectively for Lden(Road), Lden(Rail), and Lden(Air). In addition, total IR at night played a role: HRs for CVD were non-significant in the 1st, 2nd and 5th quintiles whereas they were 1.019 (1.002-1.037) and 1.021 (1.003-1.038) for the 3rd and 4th quintiles. Our study demonstrates the impact of all major transportation noise sources on cardiovascular diseases. Mid-range IR levels at night (i.e. between continuous and highly intermittent) are potentially more harmful than continuous noise levels of the same average level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harris Héritier
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Danielle Vienneau
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Foraster
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ikenna Collins Eze
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuel Schaffner
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Laurie Thiesse
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Franziska Rudzik
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Reto Pieren
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise Control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Mark Brink
- Federal Office for the Environment, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christian Cajochen
- Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jean Marc Wunderli
- Empa, Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise Control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Probst-Hensch
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Röösli
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland.
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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Wunderli JM, Pieren R, Habermacher M, Vienneau D, Cajochen C, Probst-Hensch N, Röösli M, Brink M. Intermittency ratio: A metric reflecting short-term temporal variations of transportation noise exposure. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2016; 26:575-585. [PMID: 26350982 PMCID: PMC5071543 DOI: 10.1038/jes.2015.56] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Revised: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Most environmental epidemiology studies model health effects of noise by regressing on acoustic exposure metrics that are based on the concept of average energetic dose over longer time periods (i.e. the Leq and related measures). Regarding noise effects on health and wellbeing, average measures often cannot satisfactorily predict annoyance and somatic health effects of noise, particularly sleep disturbances. It has been hypothesized that effects of noise can be better explained when also considering the variation of the level over time and the frequency distribution of event-related acoustic measures, such as for example, the maximum sound pressure level. However, it is unclear how this is best parametrized in a metric that is not correlated with the Leq, but takes into account the frequency distribution of events and their emergence from background. In this paper, a calculation method is presented that produces a metric which reflects the intermittency of road, rail and aircraft noise exposure situations. The metric termed intermittency ratio (IR) expresses the proportion of the acoustical energy contribution in the total energetic dose that is created by individual noise events above a certain threshold. To calculate the metric, it is shown how to estimate the distribution of maximum pass-by levels from information on geometry (distance and angle), traffic flow (number and speed) and single-event pass-by levels per vehicle category. On the basis of noise maps that simultaneously visualize Leq, as well as IR, the differences of both metrics are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Marc Wunderli
- Empa Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland
| | - Reto Pieren
- Empa Laboratory for Acoustics/Noise control, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland
| | | | - Danielle Vienneau
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christian Cajochen
- Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Center for Chronobiology, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Probst-Hensch
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Röösli
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mark Brink
- Federal Office for the Environment, Bern, Switzerland
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