Warning: Listening to Rock and Heavy Metal Can Seriously Damage Your Health!
Researchers in Brussels report three young men who experienced sudden chest pain and shortness of breath while attending rock concerts or standing near an amplifier in a dance hall. All had developed pneumothorax. A fourth patient sustained the condition while listening to a 1000 watt base box situated in his car boot.
A pneumothorax occurs when air leaks into the potential space between the lung and the chest wall, and can cause the lung to collapse. The researchers speculate that repetitive pressure changes in the high energy-low frequency range of the sound exposures, found in heavy metal and rock music, are likely to be responsible.
Soon to fill our lungs the hot winds of death. The gods are laughing, so take your last breath...
- Metallica (Ride the Lightning)
posted by mushsis at 3:59 pm
1 Comments:
You're quite right to be sceptical, Robert.
For a start, it seems this wasn't so much a study, as a few case reports taken together. It is based on only 5 episodes in only 4 patients. Not exactly a large cross-representation. It is therefore not generalisable to the population at large.
Again you are right that spontaneous primary pneumothorax (where there is no underlying lung disease) is more common in young, tall, lean men. The actual incidence in men has been quoted as 18-28 cases per 100 000 males per year, most of whom are tall and thin.
A confounding factor which appears not to be mentioned at all, is smoking. Smoking is strongly linked also to spontaneous pneumothoraces, yet the smoking status of these 4 patients is not mentioned.
There are probably many more holes to pick. Just bear in mind that this music link was only speculation on the researchers part.
I still found it interesting though ;)
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