500 Spaniards die from heart attacks caused by traffic noise

The noise caused by traffic in many cities is already the second cause of death of environmental origin among Europeans, only behind the suspended particles of atmospheric pollution.

Some 500 people die each year in Spanish cities alone from myocardial infarctions derived from stress caused by permanent and excessive exposure to noise from vehicles, traffic jams and horns, according to calculations by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

This lethal effect caused by the noise of traffic is especially high in certain Spanish urban areas, according to the article published in ‘Environment International’ by these medical and university experts backed by the La Caixa Foundation. This is the case, for example, in Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Seville, among the large capitals, where it is estimated that the noise of vehicles leads to the death of 47, 28 and 25 residents, respectively, each year; or in other less populated cities, but with higher noise pollution in their streets and neighbourhoods, such as Gijón or Bilbao, where 12 and 11 deaths from this cause are estimated in each year.

Regular exposure to environmental noise above 53 decibels is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a health risk. Among its most common damages are sleep disturbances, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, cognitive and mental deterioration or abnormalities in newborns.

However, if living with the hubbub of cars and motorcycles becomes something daily, sustained stress appears on the scene, which accelerates the heartbeat, increases blood pressure and facilitates the narrowing of blood channels, which can lead to a pathology. chronic and lethal such as a heart attack or in anxiety and depression.

Europe has well identified vehicle noise as a clear health risk factor among its population, but practically all Spanish urban centers exceed the already high average levels of circulatory noise of our community neighbors. This is indicated by the conclusions of the ISGlobal study, which analyzes the risks of environmental noise in 132 Spanish cities and compares them with the results obtained in another 617 capitals and cities of the main countries of the European Union. In total, it compares data from 749 populations on the continent.

The experts’ report reveals that 48% of residents in European cities regularly experience traffic noise at levels that are harmful to health. This means some 60 million Europeans who regularly live with a sound aggression above 53 decibels. Of these, at least a fifth, some 11 million urbanites, suffer from severe noise levels and a high risk to their health. The top in the EU capitals is registered in Vienna, with 86.5% of the neighbors at risk, compared to Berlin, with only 29.8%. Madrid, with one of the lowest rates in Spain, is somewhat better than the average, with 43.8%.

The researchers calculate that these figures mean that, in continental metropolises, just for breaking noise limits, some 3,600 adults die each year from ischemic heart disease (infarcts).

Conservative data

In Spain, the data is worse. The absolute majority of cities, all but three, far exceed the average of 48% of residents affected by this disturbance. They only escape this bad Madrid; Cartagena, with 37.5% of residents experiencing more noise than recommended by the WHO; and Elche, with 29%.

Spanish agglomerations not only clearly exceed the continental average for sound scandal. Half of the 132 analyzed have more than 80% of their residents exposed to this health risk. Eight of the ten most populated cities exceed this percentage. All except Madrid and Murcia (54%). The ceilings occur in Algeciras, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Pamplona, ​​with practically all the residents affected, 97%, 96.4% and 96.3%, respectively.

Despite such high figures, Sasha Khomenko, the main author of the study, assures that they are “convinced” that “the true impact of traffic noise on health is even greater”, but the lack of reliable data makes them be cautious.