Aircraft noise health impacts and limitations in the current research

Continuous growth of the aviation industry draws attention to the consideration of health effects associated with aircraft noise exposure. The narrative literature review of aircraft noise health effects described herein sought to explore the latest scientific findings and consider what type of limitations are present in the studies that could negatively impact the validity of the research findings. The literature screen was initially conducted in June 2018 within the EU H2020 research project ANIMA (Aviation Noise Impact Management through Novel Approaches) and, for some of the outcomes, a second exercise was carried out in June 2019. This combined literature review gives a stronger evidence base for the health effects of aircraft noise exposure on the cardiovascular and metabolic system, sleep quality, cognitive functioning, mental health and well-being, as well as the extent to which these outcomes are associated with annoyance. The findings also show that various study limitations are present in the research. The quality of research and, consequently, its validity could be improved, if limitations in study design, participant selection, exposure assessment, outcome characterization and confounding were considered and addressed in more detail.