14
Sep 2021
Study finds transport noise linked to increased dementia risk
According to the largest study of its kind, exposure to noise from railways and road traffic is associated an increased risk of dementia.
Although research has consistently linked transport noise to health conditions including diabetes, obesity and heart disease, studies on transport noise and dementia have been scarce and small, and findings inconsistent.
Now, an “impressive” study, the findings of which have been published in the BMJ, involving two million adults and conducted over more than a decade, has concluded that people living in areas with transport noise face a higher risk of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers investigated the association between long-term residential exposure to railway and road traffic noise and the risk of dementia among two million adults aged over 60 in Denmark between 2004 and 2017. The exposure level at the least and most exposed sides of buildings was estimated for every residential address in the country.
After taking account of potential influential factors, the study concluded that as many as 1,216 of the 8,475 cases of dementia registered in the country in 2017 could be attributed to transport noise. Of those, “the diagnosis in an estimated 964 patients was attributed to road traffic noise, and in 253 patients to railway noise”.
The researchers wrote “In this large nationwide cohort study, we wound transportation noise from road traffic and railways to be associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia and dementia subtypes, especially Alzheimer’s disease.”
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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