Environmental noise induces the release of stress hormones and inflammatory signaling molecules leading to oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction—Signatures of the internal exposome

Abstract

International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Environmental noise is a well-recognized health risk and part of the external exposome—the World Health Organization estimates that 1 million healthy life years are lost annually in Western Europe alone due to noise-related complications, including increased incidence of hypertension, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Previous data suggest that noise works through two paired pathways in a proposed reaction model for noise exposure. As a nonspecific stressor, chronic low-level noise exposure can cause a disruption of sleep and communication leading to annoyance and subsequent sympathetic and endocrine stress responses leading to increased blood pressure, heart rate, stress hormone levels, and in particular more oxidative stress, being responsible for vascular dysfunction and representing changes of the internal exposome. Chronic stress generates cardiovascular risk factors on its own such as increased blood pressure, blood viscosity, blood glucose, and activation of blood coagulation. To this end, persistent chronic noise exposure increases cardiometabolic diseases, including arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, diabetes mellitus type 2, and stroke. The present review discusses the mechanisms of the nonauditory noise-induced cardiovascular and metabolic consequences, focusing on mental stress signaling pathways, activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis and sympathetic nervous system, the association of these activations with inflammation, and the subsequent onset of oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction. © 2019 BioFactors, 45 (4):495–506, 2019.