Occupational noise exposure and the risk of stroke

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Traffic noise <60 dB(A) has been associated with an increased risk of stroke. We investigated this relationship for 80 to 86 dB(A) occupational noise. Methods: We followed 116 568 industrial and 47 679 financial workers by linkage to Danish registries 2001 through 2007. Full-shift noise levels were estimated from subsets of workers at baseline and end of follow-up. Results: We identified 981 stroke patients and observed a 27% increased confounder-adjusted risk of stroke for industrial compared with financial workers. However, longer duration or higher noise level within the industrial workers were unrelated to the risk of stroke. Conclusions: Our study did not support an association between occupational noise exposure and stroke, and the higher risk among industrial workers may reflect lifestyle differences. © 2013 American Heart Association, Inc.