Exploring the Joint Association of Road Traffic Noise and Air Quality with Hypertension Using QGIS

Literature Review: Effects of Environmental Noise on the Cardiovascular Health

The adverse effects of environmental noise on human health have been recognized for more than a century. In particular, during the last decades, the vast majority of studies have focused on the detrimental role of noise in the induction of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we aim to conduct a literature review on chronic stress responses induced by environmental noise, the risk of cardiovascular disease, and the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. We retrieved the publications from the PubMed database by searching for "noise AND cardiovascular." By reviewing these publications in this study, we will first describe the epidemiologic research on cardiovascular risk factors and diseases induced by environmental noise, then discuss the mechanism(s) underlying these noise-induced cardiovascular impairments based on clinical and experimental studies, and finally evaluate the strategies to mitigate the effects of noise on cardiovascular health. We also evaluate the studies that describe the effects of noise level and noise intermittency, such as train noise, on cardiovascular health. We discuss whether environmental noise should be part of a risk factor profile for cardiovascular disease and how we should manage it, and assess the strategy that can be used to mitigate the noise-induced physiopathological changes. Furthermore, we briefly describe the effects of air pollution and heavy metals on cardiovascular health and discuss the relevance of these environmental stressors in the noise-induced cardiovascular disease. Our studies suggest that future studies are warranted to investigate new strategies that can mitigate the adverse effects of environmental noise on cardiovascular health.

Association between outdoor light at night and hypertension and high-normal blood pressure: A nationwide cross-sectional study among Chinese adults

The authors aimed to investigate the association between outdoor light at night (LAN) intensity and blood pressure. The study included 13 507 participants aged 45 and above from the 2011-2012 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study baseline survey. Blood pressure measurements were obtained by averaging the last two readings recorded (three measurements with an interval of 45-60 s between each measurement) during the survey. Outdoor LAN intensity was assessed using Defense Meteorological Satellite Program data. The study categorized participants based on quartiles of outdoor LAN intensity and employed statistical methods like linear regression, restricted cubic splines, and logistic models to analyze the connections. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, higher levels of outdoor LAN intensity were associated with increase in systolic blood pressure (0.592 mmHg/interquartile range [IQR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.027,1.157), diastolic blood pressure (0.853 mmHg/IQR, 95% CI: 0.525,1.180) and mean arterial pressure (0.766 mmHg/IQR, 95% CI: 0.385,1.147). Interestingly, the relationship between LAN intensity and odds of hypertension followed a non-linear pattern, resembling a reverse "L" shape on cubic splines. Participants with the highest quartile of outdoor LAN intensity had 1.31-fold increased odds of hypertension (95% CI: 1.08-1.58) compared to the lowest quartile. Additionally, there was an observable trend of rising odds for high-normal blood pressure with higher levels of LAN intensity in the crude model, but no statistically significant differences were observed after adjusting for confounding factors. In conclusion, this study underscores a significant connection between outdoor LAN intensity and the prevalence of hypertension.