Background: The effects of road traffic noise on mental health have rarely been studied at a population level. Objectives: To study whether the outdoor levels of road traffic noise are associated with the use of psychotropic medication. Methods: We examined cross-sectional associations between modeled residential road traffic noise levels (L_(den)) and register-based use of psychotropic medication (antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics) among Finnish public sector employees (3086 men, 12 525 women). The logistic regression models were adjusted for age, sex, marital status, occupational position, education level, residence size, job strain, area-level socioeconomic position, and population density. Results: On average, the participants were 50 years of age (range 21-76), and the noise level at the participants' home addresses was 52 decibels (dB, standard deviation 8.1). No associations were found for psychotropic medication use in general (odds ratio (OR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78-1.11) or for more specific medication categories (0.97, 0.78-1.20 for antidepressants, 0.92, 0.65-1.28 for anxiolytics, and 0.83,0.64-1.08 for hypnotics) among those exposed to noise levels ＞60 dB compared with ＜45 dB. Conclusions: Traffic noise appeared not to be associated with psychotropic medication use in adults living in well-insulated residential buildings in Finland.
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