1. Annoyance and other health effects of transportation noise +
Annoyance and other health effects
of transportation noise
Results from NORAH
and WHO Evidence Review
Rainer Guski
Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
Noise in Europe, Brussels, April 24, 2017

2. Contents Sources of Evidence: NORAH + WHO Review Noise Annoyance
Depression
Cardiovascular Effects
Effects on Children‘s Reading
Summary and Conclusions
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 2

3. WP3: Children's cognition, HQoL
Sources of Evidence: NORAH + WHO Review 1a
A multi-disciplinary field research initiative, called NORAH (Noise Related Annoyance, Cognition and Health), worked in Germany
Comprised effects of air, road, and rail transportation noise
WP1: Annoyance & HQoL
WP2: Health
WP3: Children's cognition, HQoL
WP0: Acoustics
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 3

4. Sources of Evidence: NORAH + WHO Review 1b
NORAH included surveys, special tests and health insurance data in the large vicinity of Frankfurt Airport and surveys at Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart and Berlin-Schönefeld airports
At Frankfurt Airport, the survey used a panel study including 3 waves (2011, 2012, and 2013)
Frankfurt Airport installed a new runway and a night curfew in winter 2011/12
Individual address-specific, long-term noise levels for all three noise sources were estimated (ca ,000 participants)
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 4

5. Sources of Evidence: NORAH + WHO Review 2
WHO Europe commissioned a systematic evidence review of the effects of long-term environmental noise on long- term annoyance
Methods: Data sources and study eligibility criteria were defined, a systematic literature search was done, publication quality was assessed and selection criteria for the papers defined (e.g. publication years: )
At the end, 57 studies could be used for quantitative meta- analysis. The published data were backed up by a questionnaire sent to the authors of the papers
Review publication to appear in 2017:
Guski, R., Schreckenberg, D. & Schuemer, R. (2017). Review: WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region: A Systematic Review on Environmental Noise and Annoyance. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), submitted (Manuscript ID: ijerph ).
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 5

6. Noise Annoyance: Aircraft Noise 1
12 surveys provided comparable data on exposure / annoyance, ∑ N=17,094
% HA higher than EU standard curve at comparable Lden
25 % HA at 54 dB Lden
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 6

7. Noise Annoyance: Aircraft Noise 2
NORAH WP1 (Schreckenberg et al ) reports comparable results:
Frankfurt Airport (FRA ) is associated with highest %HA,
Cologne/Bonn (CGN), Stuttgart (STR) and Berlin-Schönefeld (BER) are associated with somewhat lower %HA
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 7

8. Noise Annoyance: Road Traffic Noise
25 surveys provided comparable data on exposure / annoyance, ∑ N=34,112
% HA comparable to EU standard curve
NORAH: similar results
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 8

9. Noise Annoyance: Railway Noise
9 surveys provided comparable data on exposure / annoyance, ∑ N=10,970
% HA higher than EU standard curve at comparable Lden
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 9

10. Health Effects 1: Depression
Secondary data-based case-control study
77,295 cases; 578,246 controls
Linear Odds Ratio increase per 10 dB increase LpAeq,24h:
Aircraft: 8.9% (no optimal fit)
Road traffic: 4.1%
Railway: 3.9% (no optimal fit)
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 10

11. Health Effects 2: Heart insufficiency / hypertens. heart disease
Secondary data-based case-control study
104,145 cases; 654,172 controls
Linear Odds Ratio increase per 10 dB increase LpAeq,24h:
Aircraft: 1.6%
Road traffic: 2.4%
Railway: 3.1%
Aircraft noise Road traffic noise Railway noise
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 11

12. Health Effects 3: Sleep disturbance
Polysomnographic sleep data registration within bedrooms of residents at Frankfurt Airport
49 participants (2011), 83 participants (2012)
Results: Some relieve due to night flight ban, more morning complaints
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 12

13. Effects on children‘s reading capabilities
NORAH WP 3 (Cognitive development and quality of life of children):
Concentrated on chronic aircraft noise effects at school and home on primary school children with respect to:
acquisition of reading skills
the development of reading-relevant speech skills
quality of life
Looked for exposure-response relations, controlling for as much confounders as possible
Data from 1,243 children + 1,185 parents + 85 teachers
Found a statistically highly significant decrease of reading performance of children with increasing aircraft noise levels
(LpAeq,08-16h 40-60dB):
a 10 dB increase of long-term noise levels was followed by one month retardation of reading performance.
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 13

14. Summary and conclusions 1+
Summary and conclusions 1
Evidence review on annoyance and NORAH both show a considerable increase of % Highly Annoyed by aircraft noise at comparable LpAeq (e.g., Lden) in relation to EU standard
Possible causes of the increase:
Modern aircraft noise estimation procedures differ
Number of aircraft movements differ
Airport fleet compositions differ
Situational context of surveys may differ (“change”)
Other ?
Evidence review on annoyance and NORAH both show an increase of % Highly Annoyed by railway noise at comparable LpAeq (e.g., Lden) in relation to EU standard
Night time freight traffic ?
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 14

15. Summary and conclusions 2+
Summary and conclusions 2
NORAH WP2 shows
Large increase of depression risks with increasing levels of aircraft, road, and railway noise levels
Increase of heart insufficiency/hypertensive heart disease with increasing levels of railway, road, and aircraft noise levels
With respect to cardiac infarction, stroke, and heart insufficiency, railway noise effects were stronger, as compared to the other traffic noise sources
Sleep disturbance during the night decreased somewhat after implementation of a night flight ban at Frankfurt Airport. However, negative feelings in the morning hours increased
NORAH WP3
Found a decrease of reading performance of school children with increasing aircraft noise levels.
More protection against transportation noise is needed.
Guski: Annoyance and other health effects p. 15

16. Thank you for your attention!+
Thank you for your attention!
Acknowledgements:
The Evidence review of annoyance was commissioned by WHO Europe.
NORAH was commissioned by the Hessian state-owned Environment & Community Center (ECC), Kelsterbach, Germany.