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HEALTH

Noise from wind turbines linked to increased use of sleeping pills, Danish study finds

A Danish study has found that people over 65 years of age are more likely to take certain types of medicine if they live close to wind turbines.

Published: 14 March 2019 14:03 CET
Noise from wind turbines linked to increased use of sleeping pills, Danish study finds
Photo: Bax Lindhardt/Ritzau Scanpix

People over the age of 65 who live close enough to wind turbines to hear a significant level of noise are more likely to be use prescriptions for anti-depressive or sleeping medication, the research found.

The study was conducted by the Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse) and was financed by three government ministries – the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment and Food and the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate.

Six different conclusions relating to the effects of wind turbines on health were made as a result of the research.

One of those conclusions is a clear link between medicine use and noise levels from wind turbines, said Aslak Harbo Poulsen, a researcher with the Danish Cancer Society.

“Our studies have found that there is, certainly amongst older people, a link between wind turbine noise that can be measured outdoors and the likelihood of using a prescription for medicine to treat depression or difficulty sleeping,” Poulsen said.

Participants in the study over the age of 65 and with night-time exposure to over 42 decibels of noise were the specific category found to be affected. People under the age of 65 did not show the same trend.

Other elements of the study found no conclusive evidence of a connection between long or short-term exposure to wind turbine noise and embolisms in the heart or strokes.

Neither was any link found between long-term exposure to wind turbine noise and late-onset diabetes.

Henrik Winther, director of the Danish Wind Energy Association (Danmarks Vindmølleforening), accepted the findings of the research.

“It is positive that this long-term and thorough research has now reached a conclusion. The public, local politicians and the wind energy sector have waited a long time for it, and the overall picture from the study is that there is no clear connection,” Winther said in a press statement.

“The study as a whole has thereby fulfilled its political purpose: to provide more knowledge, which can help to ease the concerns some may have had,” he added.

The most comprehensive study of its kind in Denmark, the newly-published research was commenced in 2014.

READ ALSO: Denmark reserves waters for construction of wind power farms

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HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Published: 10 May 2023 15:09 CEST
Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

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