Occupational noise exposure, bilateral hearing loss up risk of hypertension

Exposure to occupational noise may eventually lead to hypertension, suggests a recent study among Chinese workers.

A total of 15,422 individuals from a cross-sectional survey of the key occupational diseases in 2017 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, were included in this analysis. The investigators assessed occupational noise exposure through workplace noise level and the job titles.

Hearing loss was characterized by a pure-tone average of ≥25 dB at speech frequency (0.5, 1, 2 kHz) or high frequency (3, 4, 6 kHz) in both ears. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure at least 140/90 mm Hg or self-reported current use of antihypertensive medication.

Hypertension prevalence was significantly higher among participants with noise exposure duration of 5 to <10 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.13, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.04–1.27) and at least 10 years (OR, 1.17, 95 percent CI, 1.09–1.30) compared with those without occupational noise exposure.

Sex-specific analysis revealed that the association was significantly evident in males (duration of 5 to <10 years: OR, 1.18, 95 percent CI, 1.06–1.32; duration ≥10 years: OR, 1.25, 95 percent CI, 1.12–1.38), but not in females (duration of 5 to <10 years: OR, 1.01, 95 percent CI, 0.80–1.11; duration ≥10 years: OR, 1.06, 95 percent CI, 0.90–1.20).

In subsample analyses, bilateral hearing loss correlated with a higher prevalence of hypertension, be it for speech-frequency hearing loss (mild: OR, 1.12, 95 percent CI, 1.02–1.30; severe: OR, 1.35, 95 percent CI, 1.20–1.50) or for high-frequency hearing loss (mild: OR, 1.24, 95 percent CI, 1.03–1.50; severe: OR, 2.40, 95 percent CI, 1.80–3.17).

“The sex-subgroup analysis of hearing loss with hypertension was similar as occupational noise and hypertension,” the investigators said.