A new study, published in the Journal of The American College of Cardiology, has revealed that noise pollution will significantly increase cardiovascular risks among people.
According to the new study, noise pollution will disrupt the body on the cellular level, thus causing an elevated secretion of stress hormones. Eventually, it will increase the burden on body's blood vessels, and will finally result in heart attacks and strokes.
Cortisol and adrenaline triggers cardiovascular disorders
As a person gets continuously exposed to severe environmental noise including road traffic, the level of stress in his body increases which will result in the secretion of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These emergency hormones put the body in a 'do or die' mode and as a result, the heart will pump blood more quickly. It will gradually increase the blood pressure of the individual, and over time, it elevates the pressure exerted on the heart.
During the research, scientists also found that noise pollution is associated with several heart disease risk factors including oxidative stress, vascular dysfunction, autonomic imbalance and metabolic abnormalities.
Noise pollution should be addressed seriously
The study conducted by researchers at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany also found that people who are less exposed to noise pollution will have lower cholesterol levels and a better auto-immune response. The antioxidant levels in the blood will be also higher in people who live in calm and silent conditions.
"As the percentage of the population exposed to detrimental levels of transportation noise are rising, new developments and legislation to reduce noise are important for public health," said Thomas Munzel, a professor of medicine and the lead author of the study.
The study team also talked about the vitality of reforming traffic management to reduce the risk.
"What we need is a policy change. We can acknowledge noise as a cardiovascular risk factor, but since doctors and patients can't regulate it, we need our governments to pay attention to the WHO noise limits and change the laws accordingly," said Munzel, ABC news reports.
