Traffic noise and poverty create a dangerous cocktail for heart health

A new study by the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) shows that people on low incomes who are also exposed to high levels of traffic noise have a significantly increased risk of serious cardiovascular disease. The findings highlight the need to tackle social inequalities and environmental pollution together to improve the health of disadvantaged populations.

The study, conducted in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, analyzed data from 507 people in the U.S. It looked at the relationship between social status, traffic noise and cardiovascular disease. The paper is published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

The results are alarming: People with low incomes who were also exposed to high levels of traffic noise had more than a fivefold increased risk of major cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, compared to people without these stressors.

The study showed for the first time that the combination of social disadvantage and traffic noise increases stress responses in the brain and promotes inflammatory processes in the arteries. This so-called “neuro-arterial axis” is a central mechanism by which environmental and social stressors work together to impair cardiovascular health.

“The results clearly show that environmental factors such as noise disproportionately affect disadvantaged populations,” explains Omar Hahad, DZHK researcher at the University Medical Center Mainz and co-author of the study. “To reduce social health inequalities, policies to promote environmental justice and address social disadvantage need to be closely linked.”

The study emphasizes that reducing noise exposure and promoting social justice are crucial to improving cardiovascular health in particularly vulnerable populations. Policy and public health initiatives should focus more on this double burden.

Provided by
Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung e.V.