Occupational Noise and Hypertension Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ulrich Bolm-Audorff, Janice Hegewald, Anna Pretzsch, Alice Freiberg, Albert Nienhaus and Andreas Seidler
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Ulrich Bolm-Audorff: Division of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Safety and Environment, Regional Government of South Hesse, 65197 Wiesbaden, Germany
Janice Hegewald: Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
Anna Pretzsch: Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
Alice Freiberg: Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
Albert Nienhaus: Competence Center for Epidemiology and Health Services Research for Healthcare Professionals (CVcare), Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing (IVDP), University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Andreas Seidler: Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-24

Abstract: A number of epidemiological studies report an association between occupational noise exposure and arterial hypertension. Existing systematic reviews report conflicting results, so we conducted an updated systematic review with meta-analysis. We registered the review protocol with PROSPERO (registration no.: CRD 42019147923) and searched for observational epidemiological studies in literature databases (Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science). Two independent reviewers screened the titles/abstracts and full texts of the studies. Two reviewers also did the quality assessment and data extraction. Studies without adequate information on recruitment, response, or without a comparison group that was exposed to occupational noise under 80 dB(A) were excluded. The literature search yielded 4583 studies, and 58 studies were found through hand searching. Twenty-four studies were included in the review. The meta-analysis found a pooled effect size (ES) for hypertension (systolic/diastolic blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg) due to noise exposures ≥80 dB(A) of 1.81 (95% CI 1.51–2.18). There is no substantial risk difference between men and women, but data concerning this question are limited. We found a positive dose-response-relationship: ES = 1.21 (95% CI 0.78–1.87) ≤ 80 dB(A), ES = 1.77 (95% CI 1.36–2.29) > 80–≤85 dB(A), and ES = 3.50 (95% CI 1.56–7.86) > 85–≤90 dB(A). We found high quality of evidence that occupational noise exposure increases the risk of hypertension.

Keywords: noise; work; occupation; arterial hypertension; systematic review; meta-analysis; dose response relationship; blood pressure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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