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

Poor mental well-being was most prevalent in the high-exposure community, followed by low-exposure and no-exposure communities.

• Poor mental well-being prevalence: high-exposure community 38.2%, low-exposure community 36.1%, no-exposure community 21.9%.
• Data collected in 2024 from 394 residents across three communities near U.S. military air bases in Okinawa prefecture.
• Mental well-being was measured using the WHO-5 Well-being Index.
• Among respondents, 55.8% were female; the largest age groups were 70s (25.4%) and 60s (23.6%).

Sleep disturbance was most prevalent in the high-exposure community, followed by low-exposure and no-exposure communities.

• Sleep disturbance prevalence: high-exposure community 46.6%, low-exposure community 46.3%, no-exposure community 29.0%.
• Sleep disturbance was measured using the Athens Insomnia Scale.
• The study design was ecological, comparing communities with different levels of military aircraft noise exposure.

Residents in the high-exposure community were significantly more likely to have poor mental well-being compared to the no-exposure community.

• Odds ratio (OR): 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05–3.23 for high-exposure vs. no-exposure community.
• This association was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis.
• The comparison was made controlling for other variables in a multivariate model.

Residents in the low-exposure community were also significantly more likely to have poor mental well-being compared to the no-exposure community.

• OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.05–3.56 for low-exposure vs. no-exposure community.
• The odds ratio for low-exposure was slightly higher than for high-exposure, suggesting a non-monotonic dose-response pattern.
• This finding was based on multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Residents in the high-exposure community were significantly more likely to experience sleep disturbance compared to the no-exposure community.

• OR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.17–3.35 for high-exposure vs. no-exposure community.
• This association was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis.
• The study area included communities near two U.S. military air bases in Okinawa prefecture, Japan.

Residents in the low-exposure community were also significantly more likely to experience sleep disturbance compared to the no-exposure community.

• OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.16–3.59 for low-exposure vs. no-exposure community.
• The odds ratio for sleep disturbance was slightly higher in the low-exposure compared to the high-exposure community.
• This finding was based on multivariate logistic regression analysis.