Environmental Health Division, Research Institute at Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Institute of Highway Engineering and Transport Planning, Graz University of Technology, Austria; Research Group "Health and Quality of Life in a Green and Sustainable Environment", Strategic Research and Innovation Program for the Development of MU - Plovdiv, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Institute of Highway Engineering and Transport Planning, Graz University of Technology, Austria.
Environ Res. 2024 Feb 1;242:117642. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117642. Epub 2023 Nov 22.
Sound disturbance and sleep problems are regarded as the most common adverse effects of environmental noise but evidence of the role of air pollution and greenspace is scant. This is especially true for children who find themselves in a sensitive developmental period and experience their environment differently than adults. This study examined the joint effects of traffic exposures and residential greenspace on child sound disturbance and sleep problems via perceptions of neighborhood quality. We used cross-sectional data for 1251 schoolchildren (8-12 years) in the Tyrol region of Austria/Italy. Questionnaires provided information on sociodemographic and housing factors, perceived neighborhood quality, sound disturbance in different situations, and sleep problems. Modelled acoustic indicators included day-evening-night sound levels and the highest percentile level, and night-time sound level and a bespoke sleep disturbance index. Nitrogen dioxide served as a proxy for traffic-related air pollution. The normalized difference vegetation index was calculated as a measure of residential greenspace, and presence of a domestic garden was self-reported. Results showed that higher level of traffic-related exposures was positively associated with sound disturbance and sleep problems, while living in a greener area, especially in a house with a garden, was associated with lower sound disturbance and less sleep problems even in the presence of traffic. Traffic exposures contributed to more unfavorable, and greenspace to more positive perceptions in terms of traffic-related stressors, opportunities for outdoor recreation, and general satisfaction with the neighborhood. This indirect path seemed more important for greenspace than for traffic exposures. In conclusion, it seems advantageous to combine traffic-related mitigation with improving access to greenspace in interventions for supporting the acoustic comfort of children during day and nighttime. Even highly nature-dominated environments could still benefit from proximal green infrastructure, especially from domestic gardens.
声音干扰和睡眠问题被认为是环境噪声的最常见的不良影响，但空气污染和绿化的证据很少。这对于处于敏感发育阶段的儿童来说尤其如此，他们对环境的体验与成年人不同。本研究通过对邻里质量的感知，研究了交通暴露和居住绿化对儿童声音干扰和睡眠问题的联合影响。我们使用了奥地利/意大利蒂罗尔地区 1251 名 8-12 岁学童的横断面数据。问卷调查提供了社会人口学和住房因素、感知邻里质量、不同情况下的声音干扰以及睡眠问题的信息。模拟的声学指标包括昼夜夜间的声音水平和最高百分位水平，以及夜间的声音水平和一个定制的睡眠干扰指数。二氧化氮被用作交通相关空气污染的代表。归一化差异植被指数被计算为居住绿化的指标，而家庭花园的存在则是自我报告的。结果表明，较高的交通相关暴露水平与声音干扰和睡眠问题呈正相关，而居住在绿化面积较大的地区，尤其是居住在有花园的房屋中，即使存在交通，也与较低的声音干扰和较少的睡眠问题有关。交通暴露会导致人们对交通相关压力源、户外活动机会和对邻里的总体满意度产生更不利的看法，而绿化则会产生更积极的看法。这种间接途径对于绿化似乎比交通暴露更为重要。总之，在干预措施中，将交通相关缓解与改善儿童白天和夜间的声学舒适度相结合似乎是有利的。即使是高度自然主导的环境，仍可以从邻近的绿色基础设施中受益，特别是从家庭花园中受益。
