The Social Gradient of Urban Noise Pollution and its Effect on Pediatric and Adult Health Funded by ITMAT
Noise pollution - sound created by human activities considered harmful to health - represents an oft-cited public concern, yet has taken a back seat to other environmental hazards. A limited number of observational studies demonstrate that chronic environmental noise exposure is associated with poor outcomes in adults and children, including cardiovascular disease, poor mental health, impaired sleep, and reduced cognitive performance. Noise pollution tends to be greatest in low-resource communities, and may contribute to persistent socioeconomic and racial health disparities. Further investigation and direct measurement at a community-level is needed to not only better understand the spatial-temporal distribution of aggregated environmental noise exposure and its impact on health, but also to lay the groundwork to develop and evaluate needed noise-reducing interventions. This study addresses these gaps in knowledge through the following aims: (1) Document the spatial-temporal distribution of environmental noise exposure across 12 Philadelphia neighborhoods with low, medium, and high socioeconomic status, (2) Evaluate the relationship between noise exposure and biometric health measures - including sleep quality, cardiovascular metrics, and neurobehavioral profiles - in pediatric and adult participants.
