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The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2017) | Viewed by 90702

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Peter Lercher

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Guest Editor

Institute for Highway Engineering and Transport Planning, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Interests: combined environmental exposures (noise, vibration, air-pollution, good neighbourhood environments); health of children and adults methodological issues in environmental epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Ronny Klaeboe

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Guest Editor

Department of Safety, Security and Environment Institute of Transport Economics Gaustadaleen 21, Oslo 0349, Norway

Prof. Dr. Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska

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Guest Editor

Department of Physical Hazards, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, P.O. Box 199, 90-950. Łódź, Poland

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Simultaneous exposure to more than one physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial hazard is common in home, transitional and occupational environments.

Especially, transportation (road, rail, and air) and occupational noise is often accompanied by exposure to vibrations, air pollutants, odors and other specific environmental contexts which may enhance or reduce the potential impact.

Unfortunately, in health impact assessments, noise sources are often treated as independent contributors with the potential risk of underestimating the true health impact.

At least in environmental health impact assessments (EHIAs), most countries require the assessment of cumulative effects and the discussion of potential interactions. However, research activities in this area are scarce, as can be observed in the last update of Team 8 of the International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise (ICBEN). Also the publication options for this field are not encouraging and often results on combined effects remain unpublished.

This special issue is intended to provide an opportunity to the research community to publish the valuable results of studies which have dealt with the broad effects of combined/cumulative exposures in the environment (as defined by WHO).

The theme of noise should be the center of these publications. Reviews, research articles, methodological and papers concerning relevant policies and regulations are solicited. Please provide an abstract beforehand so we can confirm its suitability to the intended theme. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Prof. Dr. Peter Lercher
Dr. Ronny Klaeboe
Prof. Dr. Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

noise
health impact assessment
environmental health impact assessment
cumulative risk
combined effects
multiple sources
home environment
occupational environment
vulnerable populations/persons

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

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2841 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Combined Effects of Aircraft and Road Traffic Noise and Aircraft and Railway Noise on Noise Annoyance—An Analysis in the Context of the Joint Research Initiative NORAH

by Jördis Wothge, Christin Belke, Ulrich Möhler, Rainer Guski and Dirk Schreckenberg

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(8), 871; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080871 - 02 Aug 2017

Cited by 42 | Viewed by 5915

Abstract

The Noise Related Annoyance Cognition and Health (NORAH) research initiative is one of the most extensive studies on the physiological and psychological long-term effects of transportation noise in Europe. It includes research on the quality of life and annoyance as well as cardiovascular effects, sleep disturbance, breast cancer, blood pressure, depression and the cognitive development of children. Within the realm of the annoyance module of the study approximately 10,000 residents of the Rhine-Main district were surveyed on the combined effects of transportation noise. This included combined noise from aircraft and road traffic noise (N = 4905), or aircraft and railway noise (N = 4777). Results show that judgment of the total noise annoyance of participants was strongly determined by the sound source which was judged as more annoying (in this case aircraft noise). To a lesser extent, the average sound pressure level of the two present sources was also of relevance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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2188 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combined Effects of High-Speed Railway Noise and Ground Vibrations on Annoyance

by Shigenori Yokoshima, Takashi Morihara, Tetsumi Sato and Takashi Yano

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(8), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080845 - 27 Jul 2017

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4623

Abstract

The Shinkansen super-express railway system in Japan has greatly increased its capacity and has expanded nationwide. However, many inhabitants in areas along the railways have been disturbed by noise and ground vibration from the trains. Additionally, the Shinkansen railway emits a higher level of ground vibration than conventional railways at the same noise level. These findings imply that building vibrations affect living environments as significantly as the associated noise. Therefore, it is imperative to quantify the effects of noise and vibration exposures on each annoyance under simultaneous exposure. We performed a secondary analysis using individual datasets of exposure and community response associated with Shinkansen railway noise and vibration. The data consisted of six socio-acoustic surveys, which were conducted separately over the last 20 years in Japan. Applying a logistic regression analysis to the datasets, we confirmed the combined effects of vibration/noise exposure on noise/vibration annoyance. Moreover, we proposed a representative relationship between noise and vibration exposures, and the prevalence of each annoyance associated with the Shinkansen railway. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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1499 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Comparison of Annoyance from Railway Noise and Railway Vibration

by Mikael Ögren, Anita Gidlöf-Gunnarsson, Michael Smith, Sara Gustavsson and Kerstin Persson Waye

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(7), 805; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070805 - 19 Jul 2017

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5088

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare vibration exposure to noise exposure from railway traffic in terms of equal annoyance, i.e., to determine when a certain noise level is equally annoying as a corresponding vibration velocity. Based on questionnaire data from the Train Vibration and Noise Effects (TVANE) research project from residential areas exposed to railway noise and vibration, the dose response relationship for annoyance was estimated. By comparing the relationships between exposure and annoyance for areas both with and without significant vibration exposure, the noise levels and vibration velocities that had an equal probability of causing annoyance was determined using logistic regression. The comparison gives a continuous mapping between vibration velocity in the ground and a corresponding noise level at the facade that are equally annoying. For equivalent noise level at the facade compared to maximum weighted vibration velocity in the ground the probability of annoyance is approximately 20% for 59 dB or 0.48 mm/s, and about 40% for 63 dB or 0.98 mm/s. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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11611 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Community Response to Multiple Sound Sources: Integrating Acoustic and Contextual Approaches in the Analysis

by Peter Lercher, Bert De Coensel, Luc Dekonink and Dick Botteldooren

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(6), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060663 - 20 Jun 2017

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5468

Abstract

Sufficient data refer to the relevant prevalence of sound exposure by mixed traffic sources in many nations. Furthermore, consideration of the potential effects of combined sound exposure is required in legal procedures such as environmental health impact assessments. Nevertheless, current practice still uses single exposure response functions. It is silently assumed that those standard exposure-response curves accommodate also for mixed exposures—although some evidence from experimental and field studies casts doubt on this practice. The ALPNAP-study population (N = 1641) shows sufficient subgroups with combinations of rail-highway, highway-main road and rail-highway-main road sound exposure. In this paper we apply a few suggested approaches of the literature to investigate exposure-response curves and its major determinants in the case of exposure to multiple traffic sources. Highly/moderate annoyance and full scale mean annoyance served as outcome. The results show several limitations of the current approaches. Even facing the inherent methodological limitations (energy equivalent summation of sound, rating of overall annoyance) the consideration of main contextual factors jointly occurring with the sources (such as vibration, air pollution) or coping activities and judgments of the wider area soundscape increases the variance explanation from up to 8% (bivariate), up to 15% (base adjustments) up to 55% (full contextual model). The added predictors vary significantly, depending on the source combination. (e.g., significant vibration effects with main road/railway, not highway). Although no significant interactions were found, the observed additive effects are of public health importance. Especially in the case of a three source exposure situation the overall annoyance is already high at lower levels and the contribution of the acoustic indicators is small compared with the non-acoustic and contextual predictors. Noise mapping needs to go down to levels of 40 dBA,Lden to ensure the protection of quiet areas and prohibit the silent “filling up” of these areas with new sound sources. Eventually, to better predict the annoyance in the exposure range between 40 and 60 dBA and support the protection of quiet areas in city and rural areas in planning sound indicators need to be oriented at the noticeability of sound and consider other traffic related by-products (air quality, vibration, coping strain) in future studies and environmental impact assessments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Attitudinal, Situational and Demographic Factors on Annoyance Due to Environmental Vibration and Noise from Construction of a Light Rapid Transit System

by Daniel Wong-McSweeney, James Woodcock, David Waddington, Eulalia Peris, Zbigniew Koziel, Andy Moorhouse and María Dolores Redel-Macías

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(12), 1237; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13121237 - 14 Dec 2016

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4504

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine what non-exposure factors influence the relationship between vibration and noise exposure from the construction of a Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system and the annoyance of nearby residents. Noise and vibration from construction sites are known to annoy residents, with annoyance increasing as a function of the magnitude of the vibration and noise. There is not a strong correlation between exposure and levels of annoyance suggesting that factors not directly related to the exposure may have an influence. A range of attitudinal, situational and demographic factors are investigated with the aim of understanding the wide variation in annoyance for a given vibration exposure. A face-to-face survey of residents (n = 350) near three sites of LRT construction was conducted, and responses were compared to semi-empirical estimates of the internal vibration within the buildings. It was found that annoyance responses due to vibration were strongly influenced by two attitudinal variables, concern about property damage and sensitivity to vibration. Age, ownership of the property and the visibility of the construction site were also important factors. Gender, time at home and expectation of future levels of vibration had much less influence. Due to the measurement methods used, it was not possible to separate out the effects of noise and vibration on annoyance; as such, this paper focusses on annoyance due to vibration exposure. This work concludes that for the most cost-effective reduction of the impact of construction vibration and noise on the annoyance felt by a community, policies should consider attitudinal factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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2008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sleep Disturbance from Road Traffic, Railways, Airplanes and from Total Environmental Noise Levels in Montreal

by Stéphane Perron, Céline Plante, Martina S. Ragettli, David J. Kaiser, Sophie Goudreau and Audrey Smargiassi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(8), 809; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13080809 - 11 Aug 2016

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 6377

Abstract

The objective of our study was to measure the impact of transportation-related noise and total environmental noise on sleep disturbance for the residents of Montreal, Canada. A telephone-based survey on noise-related sleep disturbance among 4336 persons aged 18 years and over was conducted. L_Night for each study participant was estimated using a land use regression (LUR) model. Distance of the respondent’s residence to the nearest transportation noise source was also used as an indicator of noise exposure. The proportion of the population whose sleep was disturbed by outdoor environmental noise in the past 4 weeks was 12.4%. The proportion of those affected by road traffic, airplane and railway noise was 4.2%, 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively. We observed an increased prevalence in sleep disturbance for those exposed to both rail and road noise when compared for those exposed to road only. We did not observe an increased prevalence in sleep disturbance for those that were both exposed to road and planes when compared to those exposed to road or planes only. We developed regression models to assess the marginal proportion of sleep disturbance as a function of estimated L_Night and distance to transportation noise sources. In our models, sleep disturbance increased with proximity to transportation noise sources (railway, airplane and road traffic) and with increasing L_Night values. Our study provides a quantitative estimate of the association between total environmental noise levels estimated using an LUR model and sleep disturbance from transportation noise. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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904 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Covariance between Air Pollution Annoyance and Noise Annoyance, and Its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life

by Daniel Shepherd, Kim Dirks, David Welch, David McBride and Jason Landon

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(8), 792; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13080792 - 06 Aug 2016

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 6891

Abstract

Air pollution originating from road traffic is a known risk factor of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (both in terms of chronic and acute effects). While adverse effects on cardiovascular health have also been linked with noise (after controlling for air pollution), noise exposure has been commonly linked to sleep impairment and negative emotional reactions. Health is multi-faceted, both conceptually and operationally; Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is one of many measures capable of probing health. In this study, we examine pre-collected data from postal surveys probing HRQOL obtained from a variety of urban, suburban, and rural contexts across the North Island of New Zealand. Analyses focus on the covariance between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances, and their independent and combined effects on HRQOL. Results indicate that the highest ratings of air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances were for residents living close to the motorway, while the lowest were for rural residents. Most of the city samples indicated no significant difference between air pollution- and noise-annoyance ratings, and of all of the correlations between air pollution- and noise-annoyance, the highest were found in the city samples. These findings suggest that annoyance is driven by exposure to environmental factors and not personality characteristics. Analysis of HRQOL indicated that air pollution annoyance predicts greater variability in the physical HRQOL domain while noise annoyance predicts greater variability in the psychological, social and environmental domains. The lack of an interaction effect between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyance suggests that air pollution and noise impact on health independently. These results echo those obtained from objective measures of health and suggest that mitigation of traffic effects should address both air and noise pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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5815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Windmill Noise Annoyance, Visual Aesthetics, and Attitudes towards Renewable Energy Sources

by Ronny Klæboe and Hanne Beate Sundfør

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(8), 746; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13080746 - 23 Jul 2016

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7438

Abstract

A small focused socio-acoustic after-study of annoyance from a windmill park was undertaken after local health officials demanded a health impact study to look into neighborhood complaints. The windmill park consists of 31 turbines and is located in the South of Norway where it affects 179 dwellings. Simple exposure-effect relationships indicate stronger reactions to windmills and wind turbine noise than shown internationally, with the caveat that the sample size is small (n = 90) and responses are colored by the existing local conflict. Pulsating swishing sounds and turbine engine hum are the main causes of noise annoyance. About 60 per cent of those who participated in the survey were of the opinion that windmills degrade the landscape aesthetically, and were far from convinced that land-based windmills are desirable as a renewable energy source (hydropower is an important alternative source of renewables in Norway). Attitudes play an important role in addition to visual aesthetics in determining the acceptance of windmills and the resulting noise annoyance. To compare results from different wind turbine noise studies it seems necessary to assess the impact of important modifying factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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1732 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Annoyance from Road Traffic, Trains, Airplanes and from Total Environmental Noise Levels

by Martina S. Ragettli, Sophie Goudreau, Céline Plante, Stéphane Perron, Michel Fournier and Audrey Smargiassi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(1), 90; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010090 - 29 Dec 2015

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 6239

Abstract

There is a lack of studies assessing the exposure-response relationship between transportation noise and annoyance in North America. Our aims were to investigate the prevalence of noise annoyance induced by road traffic, trains and airplanes in relation to distance to transportation noise sources, and to total environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada; annoyance was assessed as noise-induced disturbance. A telephone-based survey among 4336 persons aged >18 years was conducted. Exposure to total environmental noise (A-weighted outdoor noise levels—LA_eq24h and day-evening-night equivalent noise levels—L_den) for each study participant was determined using a statistical noise model (land use regression—LUR) that is based on actual outdoor noise measurements. The proportion of the population annoyed by road traffic, airplane and train noise was 20.1%, 13.0% and 6.1%, respectively. As the distance to major roads, railways and the Montreal International Airport increased, the percentage of people disturbed and highly disturbed due to the corresponding traffic noise significantly decreased. When applying the statistical noise model we found a relationship between noise levels and disturbance from road traffic and total environmental noise, with Prevalence Proportion Ratios (PPR) for highly disturbed people of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.07–1.13) and 1.04 (1.02–1.06) per 1 dB(A) L_den, respectively. Our study provides the first comprehensive information on the relationship between transportation noise levels and disturbance in a Canadian city. LUR models are still in development and further studies on transportation noise induced annoyance are consequently needed, especially for sources other than road traffic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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1258 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Simulated Environment Experiment on Annoyance Due to Combined Road Traffic and Industrial Noises

by Catherine Marquis-Favre and Julien Morel

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(7), 8413-8433; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120708413 - 21 Jul 2015

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5326

Abstract

Total annoyance due to combined noises is still difficult to predict adequately. This scientific gap is an obstacle for noise action planning, especially in urban areas where inhabitants are usually exposed to high noise levels from multiple sources. In this context, this work aims to highlight potential to enhance the prediction of total annoyance. The work is based on a simulated environment experiment where participants performed activities in a living room while exposed to combined road traffic and industrial noises. The first objective of the experiment presented in this paper was to gain further understanding of the effects on annoyance of some acoustical factors, non-acoustical factors and potential interactions between the combined noise sources. The second one was to assess total annoyance models constructed from the data collected during the experiment and tested using data gathered in situ. The results obtained in this work highlighted the superiority of perceptual models. In particular, perceptual models with an interaction term seemed to be the best predictors for the two combined noise sources under study, even with high differences in sound pressure level. Thus, these results reinforced the need to focus on perceptual models and to improve the prediction of partial annoyances. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Road-Traffic Noise: Annoyance, Risk Perception, and Noise Sensitivity in the Finnish Adult Population

by Enembe Oku Okokon, Anu W. Turunen, Sari Ung-Lanki, Anna-Kaisa Vartiainen, Pekka Tiittanen and Timo Lanki

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(6), 5712-5734; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120605712 - 26 May 2015

Cited by 84 | Viewed by 7671

Abstract

Exposure to road-traffic noise commonly engenders annoyance, the extent of which is determined by factors not fully understood. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence and determinants of road-traffic noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in the Finnish adult population, while comparing the perceptions of road-traffic noise to exhausts as environmental health problems. Using a questionnaire that yielded responses from 1112 randomly selected adult Finnish respondents, we estimated road-traffic noise- and exhausts-related perceived exposures, health-risk perceptions, and self-reported annoyance on five-point scales, while noise sensitivity estimates were based on four questions. Determinants of noise annoyance and sensitivity were investigated using multivariate binary logistic regression and linear regression models, respectively. High or extreme noise annoyance was reported by 17% of respondents. Noise sensitivity scores approximated a Gaussian distribution. Road-traffic noise and exhausts were, respectively, considered high or extreme population-health risks by 22% and 27% of respondents. Knowledge of health risks from traffic noise, OR: 2.04 (1.09–3.82) and noise sensitivity, OR: 1.07 (1.00–1.14) were positively associated with annoyance. Knowledge of health risks (p < 0.045) and positive environmental attitudes (p < 000) were associated with higher noise sensitivity. Age and sex were associated with annoyance and sensitivity only in bivariate models. A considerable proportion of Finnish adults are highly annoyed by road-traffic noise, and perceive it to be a significant health risk, almost comparable to traffic exhausts. There is no distinct noise-sensitive population subgroup. Knowledge of health risks of road-traffic noise, and attitudinal variables are associated with noise annoyance and sensitivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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Open AccessArticle

City Dweller Responses to Multiple Stressors Intruding into Their Homes: Noise, Light, Odour, and Vibration

by Eja Pedersen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(3), 3246-3263; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120303246 - 18 Mar 2015

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 7142

Abstract

Urban densification increases exposure to noise, light, odour, and vibration in urban dwellings. Exposure from combined environmental stressors intruding into the home could increase the risk of adverse effects on wellbeing, even when the exposure is at a relatively low level. This study assesses the prevalence of annoyance with a combination of potential environmental stressors common in urban areas and the association with wellbeing. A questionnaire was sent by mail to residents in five areas in Halmstad (Sweden) with similar socioeconomic and housing characteristics but different exposure (response rate 56%; n = 385). Of the respondents, 50% were annoyed to some degree by at least one of the suggested stressors, most commonly by noise and vibration from local traffic. Structural equation modelling showed that annoyance led to lowered quality of life via the mediating construct residential satisfaction, which in turn was influenced by place attachment and perceived restoration possibilities in the dwelling. Stress had a negative impact on quality of life, but was not directly correlated to annoyance. Stress was however correlated with sensitivity. The findings suggest that dose-response relationships for environmental stressors should be studied in a broader context of environmental and individual factors. Also relatively low levels of exposure should be mitigated, especially if several stressors are present. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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754 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Annoyance, Sleep and Concentration Problems due to Combined Traffic Noise and the Benefit of Quiet Side

by Theo Bodin, Jonas Björk, Jonas Ardö and Maria Albin

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(2), 1612-1628; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120201612 - 29 Jan 2015

Cited by 91 | Viewed by 11612

Abstract

Background: Access to a quiet side in one’s dwelling is thought to compensate for higher noise levels at the most exposed façade. It has also been indicated that noise from combined traffic sources causes more noise annoyance than equal average levels from either road traffic or railway noise separately. Methods: 2612 persons in Malmö, Sweden, answered to a residential environment survey including questions on outdoor environment, noise sensitivity, noise annoyance, sleep quality and concentration problems. Road traffic and railway noise was modeled using Geographic Information System. Results: Access to a quiet side, i.e., at least one window facing yard, water or green space, was associated with reduced risk of annoyance OR (95%CI) 0.47 (0.38–0.59), and concentration problems 0.76 (0.61–0.95). Bedroom window facing the same environment was associated to reduced risk of reporting of poor sleep quality 0.78 (0.64–1.00). Railway noise was associated with reduced risk of annoyance below 55 dB(A) but not at higher levels of exposure. Conclusions: Having a window facing a yard, water or green space was associated to a substantially reduced risk of noise annoyance and concentration problems. If this window was the bedroom window, sleeping problems were less likely. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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Review

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477 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Adverse Effects of Heavy Metals with and without Noise Exposure on the Human Peripheral and Central Auditory System: A Literature Review

by Marie-Josée Castellanos and Adrian Fuente

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(12), 1223; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13121223 - 09 Dec 2016

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5431

Abstract

Exposure to some chemicals in the workplace can lead to occupational chemical-induced hearing loss. Attention has mainly focused on the adverse auditory effects of solvents. However, other chemicals such as heavy metals have been also identified as ototoxic agents. The aim of this work was to review the current scientific knowledge about the adverse auditory effects of heavy metal exposure with and without co-exposure to noise in humans. PubMed and Medline were accessed to find suitable articles. A total of 49 articles met the inclusion criteria. Results from the review showed that no evidence about the ototoxic effects in humans of manganese is available. Contradictory results have been found for arsenic, lead and mercury as well as for the possible interaction between heavy metals and noise. All studies found in this review have found that exposure to cadmium and mixtures of heavy metals induce auditory dysfunction. Most of the studies investigating the adverse auditory effects of heavy metals in humans have investigated human populations exposed to lead. Some of these studies suggest peripheral and central auditory dysfunction induced by lead exposure. It is concluded that further evidence from human studies about the adverse auditory effects of heavy metal exposure is still required. Despite this issue, audiologists and other hearing health care professionals should be aware of the possible auditory effects of heavy metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Combined Health Effects of Environmental Exposures)

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