Environmental noise pollution and risk of preeclampsia

BACKGROUND: Environmental noise exposure is associated with a greater risk of hypertension, but the link with preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, is unclear. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the relationship between environmental noise pollution and risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy. METHODS: We analyzed a population-based cohort comprising 269,263 deliveries on the island of Montreal, Canada between 2000 and 2013. We obtained total environmental noise pollution measurements (LAeq24, Lden, Lnight) from land use regression models, and assigned noise levels to each woman based on the residential postal code. We computed odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of noise with preeclampsia in mixed logistic regression models with participants as a random effect, and adjusted for air pollution, neighbourhood walkability, maternal age, parity, multiple pregnancy, comorbidity, socioeconomic deprivation, and year of delivery. We assessed whether noise exposure was more strongly associated with severe or early onset preeclampsia than mild or late onset preeclampsia. RESULTS: Prevalence of preeclampsia was higher for women exposed to elevated environmental noise pollution levels (LAeq24h ≥ 65 dB(A) = 37.9 per 1000 vs.