Jul 4, 2005, 3:11 GMT
London - A multinational European investigation into the effects of noise on primary school children has found that aircraft noise impairs reading comprehension and memory development, according to an article in the British medical journal The Lancet.
The study was carried out on some 3,000 children aged nine and ten from Britain, the Netherlands and Spain being taught in 89 primary schools near major airports.
A five decibel rise in noise retarded reading development by up to two months near London's Heathrow and by one month near Amsterdam's Schiphol.
Further research conducted near these airports and near Madrid's Barajas found that when youngsters were exposed to loud aircraft noise, their reading comprehension was impaired.
There was also a link between aircraft noise and a reduction in recognition memory.
"These exposure-led associations, in combination with results from earlier studies, suggest a causal effect of exposure to aircraft noise on children,s reading comprehension," Stephen Stansfeld, from Queen Mary's School of Medicine in London, said.
The professor, who led the study, added: "This effect is significant though small in magnitude, but does show a linear exposure-effect relation.
In practical terms, aircraft noise might have only a small effect on the development of reading, but the effect of long-term exposure remains unknown."
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