Residential Road Traffic Noise and High Depressive Symptoms after Five Years of Follow-up: Results from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study

Background:Traffic noise affects a large number of people, particularly in urbanized areas. Noise causes stress and annoyance, but less is known about the relationship between noise and depression.Objective:We investigated the association of residential road traffic noise with depressive symptoms using 5-year follow-up data from a German population-based study.Methods:We analyzed data from 3,300 participants in the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study who were between 45 and 75 years old and were without depressive symptoms at baseline (2000–2003). Depressive symptoms were defined based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) 15-item questionnaire (total score ≥ 17) and antidepressant medication intake. Road traffic noise was modeled according to European Parliament/Council Directive 2002/49/EC. High noise exposure was defined as annual mean 24-hr noise levels > 55 A-weighted decibels [dB(A)]. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate relative risks (RRs) a) adjusting for...