Increased catecholamine levels in urine in subjects exposed to road traffic noise - The role of stress hormones in noise research

The nocturnal excretion of catecholamines in urine was studied in 30-45-yea r-old women whose bedroom and/or living room were facing streets of varying traffic volume. The traffic volume of the streets was used as an indicator of noise exposure; adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations were assess ed as indicators of the outcome of the physiological stress. Significant as sociations between traffic volume and noradrenaline concentrations in urine were found with regard to the exposure of the bedroom (not the living room ), indicating a higher chronic physiological arousal in noise-exposed subje cts as compared to less exposed. Subjective measures of disturbance due to traffic noise were positively correlated with the noradrenaline level. Howe ver, this was only found in subjects where closing the window could not red uce the perceived disturbance, which points to the effectiveness of individ ual coping mechanisms. Stress hormones are useful indicators to study assoc iations, mechanisms, and interactions between noise, health outcomes, and e ffect modifiers in epidemiological noise research. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd. All rights reserved.