Noise Monitoring and Health Assessment at a Hospital Near Tan Son Nhat Airport: Associations between Aircraft and Road Traffic Noise, Sleep Quality, and Health Outcomes.

Abstract

Objectives: Hospitals near airports are exposed to continuous aircraft and road traffic noise, potentially affecting sleep and physiological responses. This study assessed environmental noise conditions and related health outcomes at a hospital near Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Vietnam.

Methods: From 2022 to 2024, noise monitoring was conducted at indoor (patient and staff rooms) and outdoor (balconies and rooftop) locations, measuring the equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level (L Aeq ), the day-evening-night equivalent sound level (L den ), the nighttime equivalent sound level (L night ), the maximum A-weighted sound pressure level (L Amax ), and the minimum A-weighted sound pressure level (L Amin ). Questionnaire surveys assessed perceived noise, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and health indicators. Sleep stages and heart rate variability were assessed using wearable devices in a subsample (28 staff members and 5 patients). Associations were analyzed using correlation and logistic regression analyses.

Results: Outdoor noise levels were higher than indoor levels, with rooftop L den reaching approximately 65 dB, while the indoor nighttime equivalent sound level ranged from about 47 to 54 dB. Objective noise indicators were not significantly associated with insomnia. In contrast, odor sensitivity (odds ratio [OR] = 24.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.99-303.85) and life satisfaction (OR = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.04-0.64) were significantly associated with insomnia. Noise annoyance was strongly associated with perceived quietness (OR = 31.47, 95% CI: 1.59-622.93).

Conclusions: Hospital noise exposure near airports differs markedly between outdoor and indoor environments and cannot be explained by sound levels alone. Psychological and perceptual factors play a key role in sleep disturbance and annoyance, while patients appear more vulnerable to intermittent noise events than staff.