Before–after field study of effects of wind turbine noise on polysomnographic sleep parameters

摘要

Wind is considered one of the most advantageous alternatives to fossil energy because of its low operating cost and extensive availability.However, alleged health-related effects of exposure to wind turbine (WT) noise have attracted much public attention and various symptoms, suchas sleep disturbance, have been reported by residents living close to wind developments. Prospective cohort study with synchronous measurementof noise and sleep physiologic signals was conducted to explore the possibility of sleep disturbance in people hosting new industrial WTs inOntario, Canada, using a pre and post-exposure design. Objective and subjective sleep data were collected through polysomnography (PSG), thegold standard diagnostic test, and sleep diary. Sixteen participants were studied before and after WT installation during two consecutive nights intheir own bedrooms. Both audible and infrasound noises were also concurrently measured inside the bedroom of each participant. Different noiseexposure parameters were calculated (LAeq, LZeq) and analyzed in relation to whole-night sleep parameters. Results obtained from PSG showthat sleep parameters were not significantly changed after exposure. However, reported sleep qualities were significantly (P = 0.008) worsenedafter exposure. Average noise levels during the exposure period were low to moderate and the mean of inside noise levels did not significantlychange after exposure. The result of this study based on advanced sleep recording methodology together with extensive noise measurements in anecologically valid setting cautiously suggests that there are no major changes in the sleep of participants who host new industrial WTs in theircommunity. Further studies with a larger sample size and including comprehensive single-event analyses are warranted.