Association of Military Aircraft Noise Exposure with Mental Well-Being and Sleep Disturbance near a Military Air Base in Okinawa, Japan: An Ecological Study

A considerable number of people are exposed to noise from military aircraft daily, but its health effects have not been sufficiently examined. This study assessed the association of exposure to such noise with mental well-being and sleep disturbance among people living in Okinawa prefecture, where there are two U.S. military air bases. In 2024, data were collected from 394 residents in high-, low-, and no-exposure communities using the WHO-5 Well-being Index and the Athens Insomnia Scale. Among respondents, 55.8% were female; the largest age groups were 70's (25.4%) and 60's (23.6%). Poor mental well-being and sleep disturbance were most prevalent in the high-exposure community (poor mental well-being: 38.2%, sleep disturbance: 46.6%), followed by low-exposure (36.1%, 46.3%) and no-exposure (21.9%, 29.0%) communities. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that compared to no-exposure community, the high-exposure and low-exposure communities were significantly more likely to have poor mental well-being (odds ratio (OR): 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-3.23; OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.05-3.56), as well as sleep disturbance (OR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.17-3.35; OR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.16-3.59, respectively). The results suggest that there is a substantial need to address the noise from military aircraft in Okinawa.