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Air pollution and traffic noise can cause hypertension

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A European study reveals that continuous exposure to air pollution and traffic noise can lead to hypertension. The research was carried out with 41,000 citizens from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Germany, within the ESCAPE project, also leaving another information: Germany and Spain are the countries with the highest air pollution and Sweden and Spain are the countries with the highest traffic noise.

The ESCAPE project, which was born with the aim of analyzing how pollution affects the European population in the long term, yields clear results: air pollution and traffic noise can cause hypertension, a disease that is behind many cardiovascular problems and deaths.

According to the researchers, air pollution has an effect on hypertension equivalent to overweight, equivalent to the Body Mass Index (18.5-25).The concentration of particles in the air of various sizes, including 2.5 microns, which penetrate deeply into the lungs, has been measured and the following conclusion has been reached: In the case of particles of 2.5 microns, the risk of hypertension increases by 20% each time air increases 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

A similar consequence has been analyzed with traffic noise. But they wanted to make it clear that this is the first research that has independently analyzed the chemical pollution of the air and the incidence of excess noise in traffic. This is important since preventive measures that can be taken to reduce both types of pollution are different.

It seems that air pollution and noise can cause hypertension by different ways: air pollution causes inflammation of the heart and blood vessels and oxidative stress (due to harmful molecules accumulated in the body), as well as imbalance in the functioning of the nervous system. However, traffic noise seems to influence the functioning of the nervous system and the hormonal system.

The researchers point out that pollution has also been affected by people living below conventional European contaminations. This has shown that current legislation does not adequately protect us from the harmful effects of air pollution.