Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Prior research has documented associations between environmental noise and mental health; however, the impact of building vibration noise remains unclear. This study aimed to test a mediation model evaluating whether specific noise types mediate the association between housing type and mental health among adults in Taiwan. METHODS: Cross-sectional data of 776 participants obtained from an online survey conducted from December 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025 were analyzed. The participants rated subjective levels of road-traffic noise, railway noise, and building vibration noise. Mental health outcomes included sleep quality, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicidality. Mediation analysis with nonparametric bootstrapping (5000 resamples) was used to test mediation. RESULTS: Residing in an apartment/condominium had a significantly indirect mediating effect on poorer mental health (estimates of the indirect effect: 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), and this association was mediated by higher levels of building vibration noise. However, road-traffic and railway noise did not show significant mediation effects. CONCLUSIONS: Building vibration noise appears to be a key pathway linking living in an apartment/condominium to adverse mental health outcomes.