Occupational noise and blood pressure variation

Abstract

Previous studies havedemonstratedassociation between exposure to occupational(workplace)noiseand blood pressure.The goal of the presentresearch was to investigate arelationshipbetween noise exposure and blood pressure among 1374 workers from 12 companies.Based on a confidence level of 95% (05.0), 175 workers as a case group and 174 as a control group wererandomly selected.In addition, theparticipantsweredivided intodifferent ageand work experiencegroups. The results revealedthat noise levelsin mostof companies exceededthe NIOSH (1998)standard. They also show asignificant statistical relationshipbetween exposuresto occupational noise level≥100 dBA (A-weighted decibel),hypertension andwork experience≥4years.It wasconcluded thatto study anassociationbetween exposure to workplacenoise and blood pressure,length of time on jobmust be taken into consideration.