Authors:
Kerstin Persson-Waye, Prof. Dr. | Gothenburg University, The Sahlgrenska Academy | Sweden
Sabine Janssen, PhD | TNO, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research | Netherlands
Michael Smith | Gothenburg University, The Sahlgrenska Academy | Sweden
Mikael Ögren, PhD | Sahlgrenska University Hospital & Gothenburg University | Sweden
Laith Hussain-Alkhateeb | Sahlgrenska University Hospital & Gothenburg University | Sweden
Arnold Koopman, PhD | Level Acoustics & Vibration | Netherlands
James Woodcock, PhD | University of Salford | United Kingdom
Calum Sharp, PhD | Arup | United Kingdom
Eualia Peris, PhD | University of Salford | United Kingdom
David Waddington, Prof. Dr. | Univeristy of Salford | United Kingdom
Nocturnal freight train vibrations may induce sleep disturbance, albeit little is known about the dose-response relationships. Within the European FP7 project ‘Cargovibes’, sleep disturbance was evaluated in field and laboratory studies. Comparisons between the study settings were possible by using similar questionnaire items for response and similar metrics and weighting for the exposure. Poland and the Netherlands contributed to one field study each making a total of 233 valid responses, and three laboratory studies in Sweden totaling 59 subjects and 350 person-nights. The odds ratio of sleep disturbance was analyzed in relation to vibration exposure (log 10 RMS) using ordinal logit regression, adjusting for moderating factors common for the settings. Outcome-specific fractions (OSF) were computed from Individually-assigned score of 11 sleep outcomes. Our findings suggest no significant difference between study settings (OR=0.95; 95% CI 0.46-1.95), with increased odds of three folds by exposure (OR=3.27; 95% CI2.44-4.40). Results from OSF supported the setting comparability. The plausibility of deriving common dose-response relationships is discussed in light of limitations related to exposure assessments, study populations and cultural differences.