Anyone whose blood pressure is 140/90mmhg or more for a sustained period is said to have high blood pressure or hypertension. A study shows that long-term exposure to both air and noise pollution can make the hypertension of a person high.
According to Science Daily, the largest study investigates the effects of both air pollution and traffic noise by following over 41,000 people in five different countries for five to nine years The result is if a person has a long-term exposure to air and traffic noise pollution, that person linked to a greater incidence of high blood pressure.
A study published on October 25 in the European Heart Journal said that among adults, up to one extra person per 100 people of the same age group living in an area with air and traffic noise pollution would develop high blood pressure compared to those living in the less polluted areas. The tendency is similar to the effect of being overweight with body mass index (BMI) between 25-30 compared to people with normal BMI.
This published study is the first to investigate regarding the health matter and it found out that traffic noise is associated with an increase in cases of high blood pressure as well. The study was conducted separately to know the individual linked to air pollution and noise pollution to high hypertension. The finding shows that the association of air pollution with hypertension remained even when exposure to traffic noise was considered in the analysis.
"Chronic exposure to particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as of lung cancer," the World Health Organization says. "There is a close, quantitative relationship between exposure to high concentrations of small particulates ... and increased mortality or morbidity, both daily and over time."
According to the report of The National, the researchers found that for every five micrograms per cubic meter (5 µg/m3) of PM2.5, the risk of high blood pressure increased by a fifth (22 percent) in people living in the most polluted areas compared to those in the least polluted areas. Higher soot concentrations also increased the risk.
For exposure to chronic traffic noise, the researchers found that people living in noisy streets, where there were average night time noise levels of 50 decibels, had a six per cent increased the risk of developing high blood pressure compared to those living on quieter streets where average noise levels were 40 decibels during the night.
