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Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Wind turbine noise exposure and suspected health-related effects thereof have attracted substantial attention. Various symptoms such as sleep-related problems, headache, tinnitus and vertigo have been described by subjects suspected of having been exposed to wind turbine noise. OBJECTIVE...

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Autores principales: Schmidt, Jesper Hvass, Klokker, Mads
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4256253/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25474326
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114183
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author Schmidt, Jesper Hvass
Klokker, Mads
author_facet Schmidt, Jesper Hvass
Klokker, Mads
author_sort Schmidt, Jesper Hvass
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Wind turbine noise exposure and suspected health-related effects thereof have attracted substantial attention. Various symptoms such as sleep-related problems, headache, tinnitus and vertigo have been described by subjects suspected of having been exposed to wind turbine noise. OBJECTIVE: This review was conducted systematically with the purpose of identifying any reported associations between wind turbine noise exposure and suspected health-related effects. DATA SOURCES: A search of the scientific literature concerning the health-related effects of wind turbine noise was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and various other Internet sources. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All studies investigating suspected health-related outcomes associated with wind turbine noise exposure were included. RESULTS: Wind turbines emit noise, including low-frequency noise, which decreases incrementally with increases in distance from the wind turbines. Likewise, evidence of a dose-response relationship between wind turbine noise linked to noise annoyance, sleep disturbance and possibly even psychological distress was present in the literature. Currently, there is no further existing statistically-significant evidence indicating any association between wind turbine noise exposure and tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo or headache. LIMITATIONS: Selection bias and information bias of differing magnitudes were found to be present in all current studies investigating wind turbine noise exposure and adverse health effects. Only articles published in English, German or Scandinavian languages were reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to wind turbines does seem to increase the risk of annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance in a dose-response relationship. There appears, though, to be a tolerable level of around L(Aeq) of 35 dB. Of the many other claimed health effects of wind turbine noise exposure reported in the literature, however, no conclusive evidence could be found. Future studies should focus on investigations aimed at objectively demonstrating whether or not measureable health-related outcomes can be proven to fluctuate depending on exposure to wind turbines.
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spelling pubmed-42562532014-12-11 Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review Schmidt, Jesper Hvass Klokker, Mads PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Wind turbine noise exposure and suspected health-related effects thereof have attracted substantial attention. Various symptoms such as sleep-related problems, headache, tinnitus and vertigo have been described by subjects suspected of having been exposed to wind turbine noise. OBJECTIVE: This review was conducted systematically with the purpose of identifying any reported associations between wind turbine noise exposure and suspected health-related effects. DATA SOURCES: A search of the scientific literature concerning the health-related effects of wind turbine noise was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and various other Internet sources. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All studies investigating suspected health-related outcomes associated with wind turbine noise exposure were included. RESULTS: Wind turbines emit noise, including low-frequency noise, which decreases incrementally with increases in distance from the wind turbines. Likewise, evidence of a dose-response relationship between wind turbine noise linked to noise annoyance, sleep disturbance and possibly even psychological distress was present in the literature. Currently, there is no further existing statistically-significant evidence indicating any association between wind turbine noise exposure and tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo or headache. LIMITATIONS: Selection bias and information bias of differing magnitudes were found to be present in all current studies investigating wind turbine noise exposure and adverse health effects. Only articles published in English, German or Scandinavian languages were reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to wind turbines does seem to increase the risk of annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance in a dose-response relationship. There appears, though, to be a tolerable level of around L(Aeq) of 35 dB. Of the many other claimed health effects of wind turbine noise exposure reported in the literature, however, no conclusive evidence could be found. Future studies should focus on investigations aimed at objectively demonstrating whether or not measureable health-related outcomes can be proven to fluctuate depending on exposure to wind turbines. Public Library of Science 2014-12-04 /pmc/articles/PMC4256253/ /pubmed/25474326 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114183 Text en © 2014 Schmidt, Klokker http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Schmidt, Jesper Hvass
Klokker, Mads
Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review
title Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review
title_full Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review
title_short Health Effects Related to Wind Turbine Noise Exposure: A Systematic Review
title_sort health effects related to wind turbine noise exposure: a systematic review
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4256253/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25474326
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114183
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