ABSTRACT
Background:Both air and noise pollution associated with
motor vehicle traffic have been associated with cardiovascular disease. Similarities in pollution source and
health outcome mean that there is potential for noise to
confound studies of air pollution and cardiovascular
disease, and vice versa, or for more complex interactions
to occur.
Methods:The correlations between 2-week average
roadside concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO
2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) and short term average noise levels
(L
eq,5min
) for 103 urban sites with varying traffic,
environment and infrastructure characteristics were
examined.
Results:The Pearson correlation coefficient for Leq,5min
and NO2was 0.53, and for Leq,5min and NOX
, 0.64.
Factors influencing the degree of correlation were number
of lanes on the closest road, number of cars or trucks
during noise sampling and presence of a major
intersection.
Conclusions:We recommend measurement of both
pollutants in future studies of traffic-related pollution and
cardiovascular disease to allow for more sophisticated
analysis of this relationship.