Health effects of aircraft noise near three French airports: results from a pilot epidemiological study of the DEBATS study.
Résumé
A national survey carried out in 2005 shows that 6.6% of the French population are annoyed by aircraft noise. DEBATS aims to characterize the relations between aircraft noise exposure and health status of residents around airports. It is an on-going epidemiological research program including: A longitudinal field study consisting in following-up approximately 1,200 of the Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Toulouse-Blagnac, and Lyon Saint-Exupéry airports residents during four years. Annoyance and health status are assessed by questionnaires. Physiological variables like blood-pressure or salivary cortisol are also considered within the frame of this study. A complementary study aiming to characterize specifically acute effects of aircraft noise on sleep quality using precise noise exposure measurements. Sleep quality of a sub-sample of 100 individuals will be evaluated using a wrist actimeter. Simultaneously, a sonometer located in their bedroom will record their noise exposure. A second sonometer set up outside (at the bedroom façade) will allow us to identify the aircraft noises and to investigate a link with sleep quality. A pilot study was performed in 2011 in order to test and validate the protocols on 100 residents around Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. The results of this pilot study will be presented and discussed.