A large nationwide cohort study in Denmark found "transportation noise from road traffic and railways to be associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia and dementia subtypes, especially Alzheimer’s disease."
"Exposure to noise from road traffic and railways is associated with an increased risk of dementia," reports Andrew Gregory.
Gregory is sharing the findings of a new study by researchers in Denmark and published by the journal BMJ.
"Research has consistently linked transport noise to health conditions including heart disease, diabetes and obesity, but studies on transport noise and dementia were scarce and small, and findings inconsistent," explains Gregory. The new study sets a new standard, involving two million adults over more than a decade.
"After taking account of potentially influential factors related to residents and their neighbourhoods, the study concluded that as many as 1,216 out of the 8,475 cases of dementia registered in Denmark in 2017 could be attributed to transport noise," according to Gregory.
The source article includes more details on the methodology, findings, and limitations of the study. Also included are data about the scale of dementia in the global population—it follows that reducing traffic noise would reduce the public health costs of dementia.
FULL STORY: Transport noise linked to increased risk of dementia, study finds
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