BASED ON OFFICIAL TRAFFIC-NOISE DATA FOR BERLIN -- MEN AND WOMEN WHO LIVED OFF OF NOISY ROADWAYS HAD AN ELEVATED HEART ATTACK RISK. OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF WORKPLACE NOISE WERE RELATED TO HEART ATTACK RISK ONLY AMONG MEN. THE GENDER DIFFERENCES, ACCORDING TO WILLICH'S TEAM, MAY REFLECT THE FACT THAT MEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO WORK IN PARTICULARLY NOISY INDUSTRIES, WHILE WOMEN MAY BE MORE LIKELY TO BE HOME DURING THE DAY -- AND ANNOYED BY SURROUNDING TRAFFIC. THE STUDY INCLUDED 4,115 MEN AND WOMEN, MOSTLY IN THEIR 50S, WHO HAD BEEN TREATED FOR A HEART ATTACK IN A BERLIN HOSPITAL. THEY WERE COMPARED WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF ADULTS THE SAME AGE WITHOUT A HEART ATTACK HISTORY. EVEN WITH A NUMBER OF HEART RISK FACTORS CONSIDERED -- SUCH AS SMOKING, OBESITY AND FAMILY HISTORY OF HEART ATTACK -- PEOPLE WITH GREATER NOISE EXPOSURE HAD A HIGHER RISK OF HEART ATTACK. WHETHER PROTECTIVE GEAR FOR THE EARS, WORN TO PREVENT HEARING DAMAGE, MAY ALSO LOWER HEART RISKS IS UNCLEAR. BUT THE CURRENT FINDINGS, ACCORDING TO THE RESEARCHERS, POINT TO A NEED TO STUDY THE QUESTION. -- SPA 22 26 LOCAL TIME 19 26 GMT
