Table A43.
Summary of findings table for the association between road traffic noise exposure and the incidence of diabetes.
| Question | Does Exposure to Road Traffic Noise Increase the Risk of Diabetes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | Adult population (men and women) | |||
| Setting | Residential setting: people living in cities in Denmark | |||
| Outcome | The incidence of diabetes | |||
| Summary of findings | RR per 10 dB increase in road traffic noise level (LDEN) | 1.08 (95% CI: 1.02–1.14) | ||
| Number of participants (# studies) | 57,053 (1) | |||
| Number of cases | 2752 | |||
| Rating | Adjustment to rating | |||
| Quality assessment | Starting rating | 1 cohort # | 4 (high) | |
| Factors decreasing confidence | Risk of bias | Limited a | No downgrading | |
| Inconsistency | NA b | No downgrading | ||
| Indirectness | None c | No downgrading | ||
| Imprecision | Limited d | No downgrading | ||
| Publication bias | NA e | No downgrading | ||
| Factors increasing confidence | Strength of association | Small f | No upgrading | |
| Exposure-response gradient | Evidence of a significant exposure-response gradient f | Upgrading | ||
| Possible confounding | No conclusions can be drawn g | No upgrading | ||
| Overall judgement of quality of evidence | 3 (moderate) h | |||
# Since one cohort study is available, we started with a grading of “high” (4); a The quality of the study was judged as high; b Since only one study is available, this criterion is not applicable; c The study assessed population, exposure and outcome of interest; d We considered the results of the study to be precise: The number of cases was large, and the 95% CI was sufficiently narrow; e Since the results of only one study were available it was not possible to test for publication bias or small study bias; f The evaluated study found that the risk of diabetes increased when road traffic noise level increased (RR per 10 dB < 1). There was evidence of a significant exposure-response gradient: In the evaluated study a statistically significant RR of 1.08 per 10 dB across the noise range of 50–70 dB was found. This means that if the road traffic noise level increases from 50 to 70 dB, the RR = 1.17; g We were not able to draw any conclusions whether possible residual confounders or biases would reduce our effect estimate; h We graded the overall quality of the evidence to be “high” (4). Since only one study was available, we downgraded the overall level of evidence to “moderate” (3).