Association between exposure to wind turbines and sleep disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

To date, there is scarce evidence on the association between sleep disorders and noise generated by wind turbines. We searched six relevant electronic databases from the inception to May 2023 for relevant articles. The methodological quality of the included articles was evaluated using the US National Institutes of Health tool. Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence of sleep disorders among residents close to wind turbines was 34% (95% Confidence Interval, 0.22-0.47). Univariate meta-regressions for distance and sound power level showed that at higher distance the prevalence of sleep disorders decreases (p = 0.010) and with a higher sound power level the prevalence increases (p = 0.037). Furthermore, this systematic review and meta-analysis highlighted that the overall quality of current research on this topic is poor, and the methods to measure the results are often based on subjective assessments and not validated questionnaires. In conclusion, our preliminary findings suggest that there may be a possible relation between exposure to wind turbines and sleep disorders, although no conclusions can be drawn in terms of causality due to the nature of the retrieved data and the poor quality of current evidence. Future studies should adopt a longitudinal design and focus on objective measurements, supported by validated subjective methods such as questionnaires.

Keywords: Environmental health; Meta-analysis; Renewable energy; Sleep disorders; Systematic review; Wind energy.