The article "Noise and Mental Health: Evidence, Mechanisms, and Consequences" by Omar Hahad et al. highlights the growing recognition of noise exposure as a significant environmental determinant of public health. While extensive research has linked environmental noise primarily to cardiovascular issues, the detrimental effects of noise on mental health, particularly in the brain, are less understood. The authors emphasize that exposure to noise, especially from traffic sources, can impact the central nervous system, increasing susceptibility to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. From a mechanistic perspective, noise exposure can lead to adverse phenotypic changes in brain tissue, including neuroinflammation and cerebral oxidative stress. These changes, along with feedback signaling from remote organ damage, dysregulated immune cells, and impaired circadian rhythms, collectively contribute to noise-induced mental health impairments. The review also discusses the noise/stress concept, which posits two main pathways by which noise affects health: the direct pathway involving extreme high decibel levels causing ear organ damage, and the indirect pathway involving lower decibel levels that impair daily activities, sleep, and communication. Sleep disturbance, a key driver of noise-associated non-communicable diseases (NCDs), is strongly linked to mental health problems. Epidemiological evidence supports the association between noise exposure and mental health outcomes. Meta-analyses and cohort studies have shown that exposure to road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise is associated with increased risks of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Noise exposure during pregnancy has also been linked to later depression hospitalization, and noise exposure in children has been associated with behavioral and cognitive development issues. The authors conclude that while the effects of noise on mental health may seem minor in individual studies, the public health implications are significant. Future research should deepen the mechanistic understanding of noise-induced mental health problems, identify biomarkers for early diagnosis, and explore non-pharmacological mitigation strategies.The article "Noise and Mental Health: Evidence, Mechanisms, and Consequences" by Omar Hahad et al. highlights the growing recognition of noise exposure as a significant environmental determinant of public health. While extensive research has linked environmental noise primarily to cardiovascular issues, the detrimental effects of noise on mental health, particularly in the brain, are less understood. The authors emphasize that exposure to noise, especially from traffic sources, can impact the central nervous system, increasing susceptibility to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. From a mechanistic perspective, noise exposure can lead to adverse phenotypic changes in brain tissue, including neuroinflammation and cerebral oxidative stress. These changes, along with feedback signaling from remote organ damage, dysregulated immune cells, and impaired circadian rhythms, collectively contribute to noise-induced mental health impairments. The review also discusses the noise/stress concept, which posits two main pathways by which noise affects health: the direct pathway involving extreme high decibel levels causing ear organ damage, and the indirect pathway involving lower decibel levels that impair daily activities, sleep, and communication. Sleep disturbance, a key driver of noise-associated non-communicable diseases (NCDs), is strongly linked to mental health problems. Epidemiological evidence supports the association between noise exposure and mental health outcomes. Meta-analyses and cohort studies have shown that exposure to road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise is associated with increased risks of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Noise exposure during pregnancy has also been linked to later depression hospitalization, and noise exposure in children has been associated with behavioral and cognitive development issues. The authors conclude that while the effects of noise on mental health may seem minor in individual studies, the public health implications are significant. Future research should deepen the mechanistic understanding of noise-induced mental health problems, identify biomarkers for early diagnosis, and explore non-pharmacological mitigation strategies.