Sociodemographic Factors and Mental Distress as Determinants of Perceived Noise Pollution in Four European Regions

Background: Perceived environmental noise, in addition to objective sound levels, influences stress, sleep, and other health risks. This study examined sociodemographic and mental-distress factors associated with four aspects of noise perception: perceived noise pollution level, noise-related health risk perception, annoyance, and noise sensitivity. Methods: A population-based online survey of 4179 adults was conducted in Estonia, the Oresund area (Sweden/Denmark), Catalonia (Spain), and Kosovo. Participants rated aspects of noise perception on five-point scales. Predictors included region, age, gender, education, minority status, household income comfort, along with symptoms of anxiety, depression, burnout (6-item version of the Shirom–Melamed Burnout Measure), and sleep disturbance (Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire). One-way analyses of variance (Bonferroni-adjusted) tested group differences, and hierarchical regressions assessed unique contributions. Results: On average, participants rated the perceived pollution level, health risk, annoyance, and sensitivity at 2.89, 2.73, 3.09, and 2.66, respectively, on a 1-to-5-point scale. All ratings on each aspect differed by region and age, with the highest overall ratings in Kosovo and Catalonia. Younger adults rated all four aspects of noise perception higher than older adults. Women rated annoyance and sensitivity higher, minorities reported higher perceived noise pollution and health risk perception, and university education was associated with greater perceived noise pollution, annoyance, and sensitivity. Income difficulties were negatively associated with health risk perception and sensitivity. All mental distress indicators were positively associated with noise perception aspects, with burnout showing the strongest associations. Mental distress accounted for more unique variance (3.3%–9.9%) than sociodemographic factors (2.6%–4.8%). Conclusions: The perception of environmental noise varies by region and demographic profile but is strongly associated with mental distress, particularly burnout, underscoring the need for interventions that integrate noise mitigation and mental health support.