You probably hardly notice the traffic outside your window. For many of us, it is just the background sound of city life.
Over time, we tune it out and get on with the day.
But a new study of more than 108,000 adults links long-term exposure to transportation noise above 50 decibels to an 8 to 10 percent higher chance of developing major heart risk factors.
The finding is being presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2026 in Chicago. The link held even in people who slept well.
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The analysis drew on Mass General Brigham Biobank data from 2010 to 2020. Participants had an average age of 57, and almost six in ten were women.
The strongest association was with high cholesterol, followed by high blood pressure and diabetes.
Lead researcher Dr. Joseph Nguyen, an internal medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, said his team had expected poor sleep to explain the connection. It didn't.
"We expected that disordered sleep would influence the relationship between noise exposure and heart disease. It was surprising to find that sleep health appeared to play no role," Nguyen said in the release.
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Street noise can quietly raise heart risk
Fifty decibels is roughly the sound of a quiet conversation at home or moderate rainfall on the window. Many people near a busy road, under a flight path or beside a rail line regularly cross that line without noticing.
The World Health Organization already recommends keeping long-term road traffic noise below 53 decibels, citing a higher risk of heart disease at louder levels. For aircraft noise it recommends below 45 decibels.
Research points to several possible mechanisms. Noise appears to trigger stress hormones, inflammation and problems in the lining of blood vessels.
It can also disrupt the body's internal rhythms, even when a person reports sleeping fine.
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In the United States, roughly 7 percent of the population is thought to be exposed to road traffic noise above 50 decibels.
The figure comes from Environmental Protection Agency data cited in a 2024 review in Nature on noise and cardiovascular disease.
What you can do about neighborhood noise
If your home sits near a busy road, airport or rail line, there are concrete steps that help. Acoustic laminated double glazing can cut traffic noise reaching the inside of the home by more than half, according to industry acoustic specifications.
Heavy curtains, dense hedges or trees between the home and the source, and placing the bedroom on the quietest side of the home can all reduce exposure. A fan or soft white noise can mask what remains.
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The findings are preliminary and have not yet been peer reviewed. The abstract is being presented as a poster at the Scientific Sessions in Chicago from November 6 to 9.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.