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Perceptions of Wind Turbine Noise and Self-Reported Health in Suburban Residential Areas.

ABSTRACT: Wind turbines play an important role in the worldwide mission of producing renewable energy. The development toward integrating large-scale wind turbines in the urban environment has raised concerns over the noise impacts on urban residents. While most of the existing studies on wind turbine noise (WTN) have focused on rural settings, this paper investigates the relationship between WTN, noise perception and self-reported health of people, and controlling for background characteristics of the residents in urbanized areas. Questionnaire surveys were carried out around three suburban wind farms in the UK with 359 respondents. A-weighted sound pressure levels of WTN were predicted using noise mapping, for the most exposed façade of each dwelling of the respondent. The dose-response relationship was found between WTN and annoyance, moderated by age and degree of education. WTN was associated with some aspects of self-reported health, including raised health concerns, having headaches, nausea, and ear discomfort, but was not related to sleep disturbance directly. Noise sensitivity, attitudes to wind energy, and visibility of the wind turbines were found to significantly influence self-reported health. By employing a second variant of the questionnaire with the research aim masked, this study also addressed the focusing effects induced by the questionnaire design. The significant differences in the reported adverse health between questionnaire variants implied focusing bias among the sample who knew the research purpose. This elicited a methodological finding that should be noted in future research.

SUBMITTER: Qu F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8435591 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Study objectivesTo investigate the association between self-reported and objective measures of sleep and wind turbine noise (WTN) exposure.MethodsThe Community Noise and Health Study, a cross-sectional epidemiological study, included an in-house computer-assisted interview and sleep pattern monitoring over a 7 d period. Outdoor WTN levels were calculated following international standards for conditions that typically approximate the highest long-term average levels at each dwelling. Study data were collected between May and September 2013 from adults, aged 18-79 y (606 males, 632 females) randomly selected from each household and living between 0.25 and 11.22 kilometers from operational wind turbines in two Canadian provinces. Self-reported sleep quality over the past 30 d was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Additional questions assessed the prevalence of diagnosed sleep disorders and the magnitude of sleep disturbance over the previous year. Objective measures for sleep latency, sleep efficiency, total sleep time, rate of awakening bouts, and wake duration after sleep onset were recorded using the wrist worn Actiwatch2® from a subsample of 654 participants (289 males, 365 females) for a total of 3,772 sleep nights.ResultsParticipant response rate for the interview was 78.9%. Outdoor WTN levels reached 46 dB(A) with an arithmetic mean of 35.6 and a standard deviation of 7.4. Self-reported and objectively measured sleep outcomes consistently revealed no apparent pattern or statistically significant relationship to WTN levels. However, sleep was significantly influenced by other factors, including, but not limited to, the use of sleep medication, other health conditions (including sleep disorders), caffeine consumption, and annoyance with blinking lights on wind turbines.ConclusionsStudy results do not support an association between exposure to outdoor WTN up to 46 dB(A) and an increase in the prevalence of disturbed sleep. Conclusions are based on WTN levels averaged over 1 y and, in some cases, may be strengthened with an analysis that examines sleep quality in relation to WTN levels calculated during the precise sleep period time.

Project description:BackgroundWind turbine noise exposure and suspected health-related effects thereof have attracted substantial attention. Various symptoms such as sleep-related problems, headache, tinnitus and vertigo have been described by subjects suspected of having been exposed to wind turbine noise.ObjectiveThis review was conducted systematically with the purpose of identifying any reported associations between wind turbine noise exposure and suspected health-related effects.Data sourcesA search of the scientific literature concerning the health-related effects of wind turbine noise was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and various other Internet sources.Study eligibility criteriaAll studies investigating suspected health-related outcomes associated with wind turbine noise exposure were included.ResultsWind turbines emit noise, including low-frequency noise, which decreases incrementally with increases in distance from the wind turbines. Likewise, evidence of a dose-response relationship between wind turbine noise linked to noise annoyance, sleep disturbance and possibly even psychological distress was present in the literature. Currently, there is no further existing statistically-significant evidence indicating any association between wind turbine noise exposure and tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo or headache.LimitationsSelection bias and information bias of differing magnitudes were found to be present in all current studies investigating wind turbine noise exposure and adverse health effects. Only articles published in English, German or Scandinavian languages were reviewed.ConclusionsExposure to wind turbines does seem to increase the risk of annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance in a dose-response relationship. There appears, though, to be a tolerable level of around LAeq of 35 dB. Of the many other claimed health effects of wind turbine noise exposure reported in the literature, however, no conclusive evidence could be found. Future studies should focus on investigations aimed at objectively demonstrating whether or not measureable health-related outcomes can be proven to fluctuate depending on exposure to wind turbines.

Project description:BackgroundEpidemiologic evidence linking environmental noise to obesity and hypertension remains scarce, especially in children, and the results remain inconclusive. This study aims to examine the cross-sectional associations of self-reported residential noise exposure with obesity and hypertension in children and adolescents.MethodsAs an ongoing study, a representative sample of the children aged 6-9 years in Chongqing were selected in 2014. In 2019, self-reported residential noise (answer categories: "very quiet," "moderately quiet," "slightly quiet," and "not at all quiet") data were collected, and 3,412 participants with completed data were included in the analyses.ResultsParticipants living in a quieter area had a significantly lower risk of obesity than those living in a noisy area (very quiet: OR = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.29-0.88, P = 0.015; moderately quiet: OR = 0.61, 95%CI: 0.36-1.02, P = 0.059). Similar associations were observed for abdominal obesity, although did not reach statistical significance. Consistently, residential noise exposure was significantly associated with body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio. Self-reported residential noise exposure was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (β = -1.808; 95%CI = -3.495, -0.110; P = 0.037). When sleep quality, study stress, BMI, and vegetable/fruits consumption were further adjusted, all effect estimates decreased, and no statistical association was observed between noise exposure and blood pressure. Furthermore, we found that the mediating effects of obesity on the associations of self-reported residential noise exposure with hypertension were 6.8% (% of total effect mediated = 0.068, 95%CI: -2.58, 3.99), although did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionsSelf-reported residential noise exposure was associated with a higher risk of obesity or abdominal obesity. Also, self-reported residential noise exposure was positively associated with hypertension, and obesity may partially mediate this association, but did not reach statistical significance.

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Perceptions of Wind Turbine Noise and Self-Reported Health in Suburban Residential Areas.

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