Building vibration noise appears to be a key pathway linking living in an apartment/condominium to adverse mental health outcomes, mediating associations with poorer sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and suicide risk.
Key Findings
Results
Residing in an apartment/condominium was significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes, mediated by higher levels of building vibration noise.
Cross-sectional online survey of 776 adult participants in Taiwan, conducted December 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025
Mediation analysis used nonparametric bootstrapping with 5000 resamples
Indirect effect estimates for apartment/condominium residence on mental health via building vibration noise were statistically significant across all four mental health outcomes
Indirect effect estimates: 0.225 (P < 0.001) for sleep quality, 0.431 (P < 0.001) for anxiety, 0.412 (P < 0.001) for depression, and 0.062 (P = 0.024) for suicide risk
Results
Road-traffic noise and railway noise did not show significant mediation effects in the relationship between housing type and mental health.
Participants rated subjective levels of three noise types: road-traffic noise, railway noise, and building vibration noise
Only building vibration noise emerged as a significant mediator
Road-traffic and railway noise failed to demonstrate significant indirect effects on any of the four mental health outcomes examined
Results
Building vibration noise mediated the association between apartment/condominium living and all four mental health outcomes assessed.
Mental health outcomes included sleep quality, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicidality
The mediation effect was strongest for anxiety (indirect effect estimate 0.431) and depression (0.412)
The mediation effect on suicide risk was the smallest but still statistically significant (estimate 0.062, P = 0.024)
Sleep quality showed an intermediate indirect effect estimate of 0.225 (P < 0.001)
Background
Prior research on environmental noise and mental health had not clearly addressed the specific impact of building vibration noise before this study.
The study was motivated by a gap in the literature regarding building vibration noise as distinct from other noise types
The study aimed to test a mediation model evaluating whether specific noise types mediate the association between housing type and mental health
Building vibration noise is a noise type specific to multi-unit residential buildings such as apartments and condominiums
What This Means
This research suggests that people living in apartments or condominiums in Taiwan experience worse mental health outcomes — including poorer sleep, more anxiety, more depression, and higher suicide risk — and that a key reason for this is exposure to building vibration noise. Building vibration noise refers to sounds and vibrations transmitted through the structure of a building, such as noise from neighbors walking, moving furniture, or other activities that travel through floors, walls, and ceilings. Unlike road-traffic or railway noise, this type of noise was uniquely linked to mental health in this study.
The study surveyed 776 Taiwanese adults online and used statistical methods to test whether different types of noise could explain the connection between housing type and mental health. Interestingly, road-traffic noise and railway noise did not play a significant role in this pathway, suggesting that the shared-structure environment of apartment living — rather than outdoor noise sources — may be particularly relevant to residents' wellbeing.
This research suggests that building vibration noise deserves more attention as a public health concern in densely populated urban areas where apartment living is common. It points to the potential value of building design improvements, noise insulation standards, and community awareness around noise-generating behaviors, as these factors may have meaningful implications for the mental health of urban residents.
Li D, Yen C, Chen Y. (2026). Mediating Role of Building Vibration Noise in the Relationship between Housing Type and Mental Health: Evidence from a Taiwanese Online Survey.. Noise & health. https://doi.org/10.4103/nah.nah_174_25