Comunità extra aeroportuali e rischio cardiaco, ictus, coronarie e altro

Uno studio GB ed uno USA evidenziano le innegabili problematiche esistenti

La vita in prossimità delle piste di volo non è granché! E' una affermazione che suona del tutto scontata ed evidente che i residenti che vivono nell'intorno di uno scalo aereo. Sia questa civile, comemrciale, una aerobase militare, a traffico misto civile/militare fono al piccolo aerocampo e/o aviosuperficie di ultraleggeri. Gli effetti collaterali sono molteplici, anche se in questa circostanze il rilievo commentato è ancora una volta quello delle emisssioni acustiche: del rumore aereo generato e percepito dai cittadini.

Ebbene - non è la prima volta che Aerohabitat lo propone - due inchieste, due studi distinti, uno USA e uno GB, ripresi dal British Medical Journal, sostengono che l'esistenza in prossimità del rumore aereo incrementa il rischio coronarie, cardiovascolare e di ictus.

Se in Gran Bretagna la Open University ha analizzato l'arco temporale 2001 - 2005 verificando il numero di accessi ospedalieri per danni cardiovascolari e ictus ed equivalenti in 12 distretti londinesi dei quali ben nove nell'intorno all’aeroporto di Heathrow.

Negli USA invece uno studio della Harvard Medical School ha trattato database relativi a  6 milioni cittadini investiti da un impatto acustico superiore a 65 decibel (o parametro equivalente) e residenti nell'intorno dei maggiori 89 aeroporti USA.

Per quanto riguarda l'investigazione GB - lo studio integrale è disponibile - riportiamo uno stralcio sintetico del resoconto:

"Objective To investigate the association of aircraft noise with risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease in the general population.

Design Small area study.

Setting 12 London boroughs and nine districts west of London exposed to aircraft noise related to Heathrow airport in London.

Population About 3.6 million residents living near Heathrow airport. Risks for hospital admissions were assessed in 12 110 census output areas (average population about 300 inhabitants) and risks for mortality in 2378 super output areas (about 1500 inhabitants).

Main outcome measures Risk of hospital admissions for, and mortality from, stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease, 2001-05.

Results Hospital admissions showed statistically significant linear trends (P<0.001 to P<0.05) of increasing risk with higher levels of both daytime (average A weighted equivalent noise 7 am to 11 pm, L_Aeq,16h) and night time (11 pm to 7 am, L_night) aircraft noise. When areas experiencing the highest levels of daytime aircraft noise were compared with those experiencing the lowest levels (>63 dB v ≤51 dB), the relative risk of hospital admissions for stroke was 1.24 (95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.43), for coronary heart disease was 1.21 (1.12 to 1.31), and for cardiovascular disease was 1.14 (1.08 to 1.20) adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation, and a smoking proxy (lung cancer mortality) using a Poisson regression model including a random effect term to account for residual heterogeneity. Corresponding relative risks for mortality were of similar magnitude, although with wider confidence limits. Admissions for coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease were particularly affected by adjustment for South Asian ethnicity, which needs to be considered in interpretation. All results were robust to adjustment for particulate matter (PM₁₀) air pollution, and road traffic noise, possible for London boroughs (population about 2.6 million). We could not distinguish between the effects of daytime or night time noise as these measures were highly correlated.

Conclusion High levels of aircraft noise were associated with increased risks of stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease for both hospital admissions and mortality in areas near Heathrow airport in London. As well as the possibility of causal associations, alternative explanations such as residual confounding and potential for ecological bias should be considered."