Authors:
Francesca Mattei, PhD | Epidemiology Department, Regional Health Service of Lazio | Italy
Chiara Badaloni | Epidemiology Department, Regional Health Service of Lazio | Italy
Elena Ascari | IPOOL srl | Italy
Paolo Gagliardi | IPOOL srl | Italy
Gaetano Licitra | Institute for Chemical and Physical Processes, CNR | Switzerland
Giulia Cesaroni | Epidemiology Department, Regional Health Service of Lazio | Italy
Massimo Stafoggia | Epidemiology Department, Regional Health Service of Lazio | Italy
Francesco Forastiere | Epidemiology Department, Regional Health Service of Lazio | Italy
Carla Ancona | Epidemiology Department, Regional Health Service of Lazio | Italy
The study aim was to estimate the health impact of vehicular traffic noise on residents in Rome. Road traffic noise indicators (LAeq16h, Lden, Lnigth) were estimated for all the residential addresses in Rome using the acoustic model Sound-Plan7.4 (2009 traffic-flow data). We estimated attributable cases of hypertension, coronary events incidence, and sleep disorders. Available exposure-response functions were extrapolated from published meta-analyses. The counterfactual levels were 55dB(A) for LAeq16h and Lden, 40dB(A) for Lnigth. Rome citizens (2,617,165 residents) are exposed to relatively high mean annual-levels of noise, 62.6dB(A) LAeq16h, 60.5dB(A) Lden, and 51.3dB(A) Lnigth. We estimated 15,458 (CI 95 % 5,277-24,491) hypertension cases, 247 (CI 95 % 129-383) incident coronary events, and 146,744 (CI 95 % 62,763-299,250) sleep disorders attributable to traffic noise. The HIA indicates an important negative impact of noise in Rome. Although a certain overlap between the impact of air pollutants and noise must be clarified, results call for the adoption of structural interventions to reduce traffic in the city and prevent large health effects among residents.