Car, metro, train, bus … In town, noise pollution linked to transport is numerous. Nearly 9 million French people would be exposed to it, particularly in the Paris region. In February 2019, the noise observatory (Bruitparif) reported that Ile-de-France residents could lose years of healthy life because of this. It is difficult to examine, with precision, what are the consequences of this noise pollution on our organism. Researchers from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) are leading a study on the subject. They are trying to analyze the direct consequences of transport noise on blood pressure and heart rate.
Journalist “infiltrated” into the study
A reporter for Special Envoy on France 2 participated in the study, as did 300 other people. For one day, she had to wear an armband. Every ten minutes or so, your doctor measured your heart rate and blood pressure. A device with a microphone also recorded the sounds around it in real time. Study participants were asked to spend an hour in two very different soundscapes. On a Parisian boulevard, very busy and very noisy, and in the calm of a park. Each person had to remain still during the experiment so as not to disturb their heart rate. So the reporter started reading a book every time.
Heart rate increases with noise
A week later, the France 2 journalist went to Inserm to find out the results. Basile Chaix is director of research and is at the head of this present study. The latter observed that the journalist’s heart rate was stable in the park (around 60 beats per minute), but much higher on the boulevard (around 75 beats per minute). Her blood pressure, however, has not changed. With these results, we can actually think of a risk of cardiovascular disease because a high heart rate can, in the long term, favor them.
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