Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability
Aircraft Noise and Cardiovascular Outcomes (ANCO)
Principal Investigator - Anna Hansell
This Medical Research Council grant funds the first comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular (CVD) impacts of aircraft noise near major airports in the UK. The following research questions are being addressed:
- Does aircraft noise show consistent and coherent associations with CVD admissions and mortality?
- Does aircraft noise show associations with intermediate CVD outcomes such as high blood pressure, obesity and inflammatory markers in the blood?
Transport noise is an under-studied, ubiquitous environmental pollutant with important implications for public health, transport policy and urban planning. Aircraft noise already affects more people in the UK than any other European country. While there is a large body of research on annoyance and sleep disturbance from aircraft noise, there is limited epidemiological evidence on aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease despite good biological plausibility for noise impacts on cardiovascular and metabolic functioning.