Kids in Noisy Neighborhoods More Prone to Anxiety [Video]

Key Takeaways

New research on thousands of British children suggests that exposure to noisy neighborhoods could raise a child’s odds for anxietyNoise can interrupt sleep or impair a child’s cognitive development, perhaps upping anxietyAir pollution during gestation or infancy was also linked to mental health issues

WEDNESDAY, May 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Children exposed to traffic and other noise in their neighborhoods may be at higher risk for anxiety, researchers conclude, while air pollution could raise risks for other mental health woes.

“Childhood and adolescent noise pollution exposure could increase anxiety by increasing stress and disrupting sleep,” wrote a team led by Joanne Newbury, of Bristol Medical School in Bristol, U.K.

The findings were published May 28 in the journal JAMA Network Open.

In the study, Newbury’s team looked at data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which tracked the health of children born in England between 1991 and 1993.

A total of 9,065 supplied data …