Location, location, location. Always an important factor when buying a home, but it turns out it might be even more important than we think. A new study out of Lund University Hospital in Sweden finds that those living near a noisy road are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure.
The study sample was made up of 24,238 Swedish adults between the ages of 18 and 80. The research team used health survey questionnaires and then compared this information to where the respondent lived. A geographic information system was used to determine average road noise.
The researchers found that those who lived close to loud roads were more likely to report having high blood pressure than those living in quieter areas. According to BBC News, it was concluded that daily sound exposure at above 60 decibels increased the risk of high blood pressure by at least 25 percent.
Theo Bodin, head researcher, tells Science Daily:
“We found that exposure above 60 decibels was associated with high blood pressure among the relatively young and middle-aged, an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.”
However, these effects were not seen in the elderly. Bodin explains:
“The effect of noise may become less important, or harder to detect, relative to other risk factors with increasing age. Alternatively, it could be that noise annoyance varies with age.”
The study is published online in the journal Environmental Health.
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Correlation still doesn’t imply causation. Perhaps people who have high blood pressure don’t mind the noise as much and therefore are more likely to live near busy streets.