Aircraft and road traffic noise exposure and children?s mental health in the RANCH study

摘要

Previous studies have shown mixed results of the effects of noise exposure on children’s mental health. In the RANCH study exposure-effect relationships between aircraft and road traffic noise exposure and mental health were examined in 2844 children, aged 9-10 years old, living around three majorrnairports in the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Mental Health was assessed by the Strengths andrnDifficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by a parent. Aircraft noise exposure was statisticallyrnsignificantly associated with an increased score on the hyperactivity subscale (pooled B estimate 0.013 CIrn0.007-0.019) adjusting for age, gender, parental employment, crowding, home ownership, mother’srneducation, main language spoken at home, parental support, long-standing illness and classroom glazing.rnThere was no association between either aircraft or road traffic noise exposure and the SDQ total score inrnanalyses of the pooled data. The hyperactivity results replicate a previous UK study and may indicate thatrnhigh aircraft noise exposure worsens hyperactivity in children who are already vulnerable.