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Environmental noise is the second largest environmental risk factor in disease burden estimates for Europe. While socioeconomic inequalities in noise exposure have been reported, the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on the disease burden attributable to noise exposure has to our knowledge not been reported previously. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of SES on traffic noise exposure and the associated disease burden in selected Nordic populations. We have employed nationwide data on road traffic noise exposure and SES from the Danish Nationwide Model, and will also include the Norwegian Nationwide Model and cohorts from all the Nordic countries in future analyses. The impact of household income, education and type of housing on traffic noise exposure was assessed using linear regression analyses. The most consistent finding was that, compared to medium and low income, high income was associated with lower noise exposure. Based on stratified exposure distributions according to income (low, medium and high) burden of disease estimates were calculated in terms of Years Lived with Disability (YLD) for high degree of noise annoyance. The YLD for high noise annoyance was up to 20% lower in the high compared to the lower income populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental noise is of considerable public health concern, and quantification of the health impacts is important for preventive strategies. We estimated the burden of disease (BoD) due to road traffic and railway noise in four Nordic countries and their capital cities in terms of DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years). Available data on noise exposure were used, including data from strategic noise mapping according to the Environmental Noise Directive, END (Directive 2002/49/EC). High degree of noise annoyance (HA), high degree of sleep disturbance (HSD) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) were included in the main analyses based on exposure-response associations recommended by WHO. Country-specific estimates of IHD from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study were used. Since several aspects of the noise exposure modelling vary considerably between the Nordic countries, no comparable estimates could be made for the entire countries. For the capital cities comparable estimates ranged from 330 to 485 DALYs/100 000 for road traffic noise, and from 40 to 140 DALYs/100 000 for railway noise. High annoyance and high degree of sleep disturbance accounted for the largest part of DALYs for road traffic and railway noise, respectively. Further harmonization of noise exposure modelling is important for comparative disease burden assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]