Increasing noise from traffic occurs in parallel with urbanization. Traffic noise may act as a stressor and disturb nighttime sleep, followed by an activation of the sympathetic and endocrine system, thereby increasing a number of biological risk factors. Transportation noise is classified as the second worst environmental risk factor in Europe, and the World Health Organization recently concluded that road traffic noise increases risk for ischemic heart disease and potentially other diseases and conditions. In this chapter, we will give an overview of the current mechanistic insights into the relationship between noise exposure and disease and summarize the epidemiological research on effects of transportation noise on annoyance, sleep, lifestyle habits, cardiometabolic disease, mental health, and cancer. Lastly, we will describe available strategies for noise mitigation.
