BACKGROUND Many studies have demonstrated adverse effects of exposure to aircraft noise on health. Possible biological pathways for these effects include hormonal disturbances. Few studies deal with aircraft noise effects on saliva cortisol in adults, and results are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess the effects of aircraft noise exposure on saliva cortisol levels and its variation in people living near airports. METHODS This study focused on the 1300 residents included in the HYENA and DEBATS cross-sectional studies, with complete information on cortisol sampling. All the participants followed a similar procedure aiming to collect both a morning and an evening saliva cortisol samples. Socioeconomic and lifestyle information were obtained during a face-to-face interview. Outdoor aircraft noise exposure was estimated for each participant's home address. Associations between aircraft noise exposure and cortisol outcomes were investigated a priori for male and female separately, using linear regression models adjusted for relevant confounders. Different approaches were used to characterize cortisol levels, such as morning and evening cortisol concentrations and the absolute and relative variations between morning and evening levels. RESULTS Statistically significant increases of evening cortisol levels were shown in women with a 10-dB(A) increase in aircraft noise exposure in terms of LAeq, 16h (exp(β) = 1.08; CI95% = 1.00-1.16), Lden (exp(β) = 1.09; CI95% = 1.01-1.18), Lnight (exp(β) = 1.11; CI95% = 1.02-1.20). A statistically significant association was also found in women between a 10-dB(A) increase in terms of Lnight and the absolute variation per hour (exp(β) = 0.90; CI95% = 0.80-1.00). Statistically significant decreases in relative variation per hour were also evidenced in women, with stronger effects with the Lnight (exp(β) = 0.89; CI95% = 0.83-0.96) than with other noise indicators. The morning cortisol levels were unchanged whatever noise exposure indicator considered. There was no statistically significant association between aircraft noise exposure and cortisol outcomes in men. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study show statistically significant associations between aircraft noise exposure and evening cortisol levels and related flattening in the (absolute and relative) variations per hour in women. Further biological research is needed to deepen knowledge of the pathway between noise exposure and disturbed hormonal regulation, and specially the difference in effects between genders.

中文翻译：

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与飞机噪声暴露相关的唾液皮质醇：来自七个欧洲国家的汇总分析结果。

背景技术许多研究已经证明暴露于飞机噪声对健康有不利影响。这些作用的可能生物学途径包括激素紊乱。很少有研究处理飞机噪声对成人唾液皮质醇的影响，结果不一致。目的我们旨在评估飞机噪声暴露对居住在机场附近的人唾液皮质醇水平及其变化的影响。方法该研究集中于HYENA和DEBATS横断面研究中的1300名居民，并提供有关皮质醇采样的完整信息。所有参与者都遵循类似的程序，旨在收集早晨和晚上的唾液皮质醇样品。在面对面采访中获得了社会经济和生活方式信息。估计每个参与者的家庭住址的户外飞机噪声暴露。使用针对相关混杂因素调整的线性回归模型，分别对男性和女性先验地研究了飞机噪声暴露与皮质醇结局之间的关联。使用了不同的方法来表征皮质醇水平，例如早晚的皮质醇浓度以及早晚水平之间的绝对和相对变化。结果表明，女性的夜间皮质醇水平显着增加，其中飞机噪音暴露以LAeq，16h（exp（β）= 1.08; CI95％= 1.00-1.16），Lden（exp （β）= 1.09； CI95％= 1.01-1.18），莱特（exp（β）= 1.11; CI95％= 1.02-1.20）。在女性中，在Lnight值增加10-dB（A）与每小时绝对变化之间也存在统计学上的显着关联（exp（β）= 0.90； CI95％= 0.80-1.00）。在女性中，每小时相对变化的统计学显着下降也得到了证实，与其他噪声指标相比，莱特效应（exp（β）= 0.89; CI95％= 0.83-0.96）具有更强的影响。不论噪声暴露指标如何，早晨的皮质醇水平均保持不变。男性飞机噪声暴露与皮质醇结局之间无统计学意义的关联。结论本研究的结果表明，飞机噪音暴露与夜间皮质醇水平以及女性每小时（绝对和相对）变化中的扁平化之间存在统计学上的显着关联。