Living on a noisy road has been linked to the risk of Parkinson's disease

Prolonged exposure to traffic noise in residential areas may be associated with a slight increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. At the same time, the presence of a quiet side of the house, protected from noise, weakened the revealed connection. This is stated in a study published in JAMA Neurology.

The researchers conducted a nationwide cohort study that included more than 3.1 million Danish residents aged 40 and over. The follow-up lasted from 2000 to 2017, during which time 20,587 participants were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The researchers reconstructed the participants' address history from 1990 and modeled the average road noise level over the previous ten years. The most noisy and least affected facades were evaluated separately for each house.

When the noise level on the busiest side of the building increased by 11.5 dB, the relative risk of Parkinson's disease increased by 3%. For the quiet side, an increase of 8.9 dB was associated with a 4% increased risk.

After taking into account the difference between the noisiest and quietest facades, the connection became somewhat stronger: the relative risk increased by 6% with an increase in noise by 11.5 dB. At the same time, a difference of at least 10 dB between the two sides of the building was associated with a reduced risk among people exposed to noise above 50 dB.

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The results persisted after adjustments for gender, education, income, population density, air pollution, and the amount of green space. In a separate subgroup, the researchers also took into account smoking and physical activity levels.

The authors suggested that road noise can disrupt sleep, activate stress reactions, and support processes associated with oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. However, the observational nature of the work does not allow us to assert that it is noise that directly causes Parkinson's disease. Researchers believe that when designing residential buildings, it is important to provide sides protected from traffic noise, where bedrooms and recreation areas can be placed.

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