Traffic and noise pollution double whammy for couples trying to conceive

Exposure to particulate air pollution was associated with an increased risk of infertility in men and road traffic noise was associated with a higher risk of infertility among women older than 35 years...

Noisy neighbourhoods could be linked to a nearly 15 per cent increased risk of infertility in women over 35, a study has suggested. 

The Danish study, published in the British Medical Journal, analysed Danish National Patient Register data for 526,000 men and 377,850 women aged 30 to 45 in 2000-2017.

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Infertility is a major global health problem affecting one in seven couples trying to conceive. The study found female fertility to be affected by noise, while male infertility was linked to air pollution — with exposure to air pollution over five years associated with a 24 per cent increased risk of infertility in men aged 30 to 45. 

Political implementation of air pollution and noise mitigations may be important tools for improving birth rates in the western world

The authors said: “Based on a nationwide cohort, designed to include a high proportion of people actively trying to achieve pregnancy, we found that PM2.5 was associated with a higher risk of an infertility diagnosis among men and road traffic noise was associated with a higher risk of an infertility diagnosis among women older than 35 years, and possibly among men older than 37 years. 

“As many western countries are facing declining birth rates and increasing maternal age at the birth of a first child, knowledge on environmental pollutants affecting fertility is crucial. If our results are confirmed in future studies, it suggests that political implementation of air pollution and noise mitigations may be important tools for improving birth rates in the western world.”

What is already known on this topic, from the BMJ

• Particulate air pollution and transportation noise are the two largest environmental causes of disease and death

• Particulate air pollution has been associated with reduced sperm quality and reduced success of fertility treatment, whereas results on fecundability are inconsistent

• Although one study found road traffic noise to increase time to pregnancy, no studies have investigated the effects of transportation noise on incident infertility in men and women

What this study adds

• Exposure to particulate air pollution was associated with an increased risk of an infertility diagnosis in men

• Road traffic noise was associated with a higher risk of an infertility diagnosis among women older than 35 years, and potentially among men older than 37 years

• If these findings are confirmed in future studies, they may prove important in guiding decision makers responsible for setting priorities and implementing mitigations strategies to protect the general population from these exposures

The research has led to calls from experts for new buildings to be noise-insulated.