Traffic noise annoyance in the LIFE-adult study in Germany: Exposure-response relationships and a comparison to the WHO curves
Karla Romero Starke, Melanie Schubert, Pauline Kaboth, Julia Gerlach, Janice Hegewald, Matthias Reusche, Dieter Friedemann, Andrea Zülke, Steffi G. Riedel‐Heller, Hajo Zeeb, Andreas Seidler
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Noise annoyance is the second-highest cause of lost disability-adjusted life-years due to environmental noise in Europe. Evidence on exposure-response relationships (ERRs) for traffic noise annoyance with more accurate exposure values is still needed. OBJECTIVES: In an analysis of the population-based LIFE-Adult study in Leipzig, Germany, we aimed to investigate the effect of road, railway (train and tram), and aircraft noise on high annoyance (HA). METHODS: Traffic exposure data was taken for 2012 and data on noise annoyance was evaluated between 2018 and 2021. HA was defined according to international standardized norms. We calculated risk estimates using logistic regression, controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, and compared our ERRs with those from the last WHO review on this topic. RESULTS: increase). Compared to the WHO curves, the proportion of highly annoyed individuals was somewhat lower for road and rail traffic noise, but higher for aircraft noise. DISCUSSION: Aircraft noise is particularly annoying. There were differences between our study's ERRs and those in the WHO review, especially for aircraft noise. These differences may be partly explained by the improved accuracy of the exposure values, as we considered secondary road networks and tram noise, and by a lack of a nighttime flight ban at the Leipzig airport. Geographical, regional and climatic variations, inconsistency in HA cut-offs, as well as temporal developments in the annoyance experience may also explain the differences. Since ERRs serve as a basis for decision making in public policies, regular updates of the curves based on new evidence is recommended.