Zahra Zamanian; Reza Rostami; Kiana Nikeghbal
Volume 3, Issue 1 , January 2015, , Pages 45-49
Abstract
Background: Noise is one of the most important hazardous physical factors in industrial environments. This study aimed to determine the effects of noise exposure on serum cortisol level and some blood parameters among male workers of a steel production company.Methods: This cross-sectional study was ...
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Background: Noise is one of the most important hazardous physical factors in industrial environments. This study aimed to determine the effects of noise exposure on serum cortisol level and some blood parameters among male workers of a steel production company.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 male workers in a steel production company. In order to assess the changes in blood parameters, such as serum cortisol level, lipid profile, and blood sugar, blood samples were taken from the participants before and after the work shift. Besides, CEL 440 sound level meter was used to measure the equivalent sound pressure level (LAeq) and analyze the noise in octave band frequencies. Analyses of data were performed by SPSS software (version 16) using the Paired sample t-test.Results: The laboratory findings indicated an increase in serum cortisol at all exposure levels. However, the changes were not statistically significant. An increase was observed in blood sugar levels at all the three noise levels and the increment was statistically significant at 95 dB noise level.Conclusion: The present study showed that exposure to high sound levels leads to changes in biological parameters, although under the scenario explained in this study these changes did not reach statistical significant.
Masoud Neghab; Hamid Karimi; Sayed Hamidreza Tabatabaee; Esmaeel Soleimani; Abas Ali Kasaeinasab
Volume 2, Issue 3 , July 2014, , Pages 107-112
Abstract
Background: Noise is one of the most pervasive hazards in industrial settings. This retrospective study was carried out to assess the effects of noise exposure on hearing status, blood lipids and blood pressure of employees of a local fireclay mine.Methods: Two hundred and forty male workers were studied. ...
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Background: Noise is one of the most pervasive hazards in industrial settings. This retrospective study was carried out to assess the effects of noise exposure on hearing status, blood lipids and blood pressure of employees of a local fireclay mine.Methods: Two hundred and forty male workers were studied. Data on audiometric measurements, blood lipids and blood pressure were derived from the workers’ medical records and analyzed. Furthermore, area noise measurements were performed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0.Results: Workers were exposed to a mean noise level of 91±15 dB. The means of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were within the normal range for the first three years of the study. However, a slight, non-significant increase in TG level was noted in 2010. Most of the participants (63.6%) suffered from moderate hearing loss (HL). About 23.6% and 12.7% of the employees had developed severe and mild HL, respectively. A statistically significant difference was noted in the number of workers with high-frequency noise-induced HL. Furthermore, a statistically significant association was found between the mean of high frequency HL and log-transformed TG values in 2009 and 2010.Conclusions: High frequency HL could be used as a biomarker for identifying workers exposed to excessive noise levels. High frequency HL developed over a 4-year exposure to noise was associated with hyper triglyceridemia. Implementing a hearing conservation program seems to be mandatory to prevent further increases in the number of workers who are already in the severe HL group.
masoud neghab; ahmad soltanzadeh; roghayeh abedini; jafar hasanzadeh; saeed sarvestani
Volume 2, Issue 2 , April 2014, , Pages 42-48
Abstract
Background: Noise pollution has a particular importance in quiet environments such as hospitals. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of noise exposure on the auditory system, blood pressure and precision, concentration and other psycho-neural components.Methods: This cross-sectional ...
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Background: Noise pollution has a particular importance in quiet environments such as hospitals. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of noise exposure on the auditory system, blood pressure and precision, concentration and other psycho-neural components.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in three large hospitals of Shiraz, during the period of 2012 to 2013. The study population consisted of 81 health care personnel (the exposed group) and 79 non-exposed individuals (the referent group). Day and night time sound levels were measured at different wards of the hospitals by a sound level meter (B&K 7110). Hearing status was assessed by pure tone audiometry of subjects by an Interacoustic AD27 audiometer. Blood pressure was measured with a mercury sphygmomanometer at resting time and psycho-neural components including sleep disturbances, headache, irritability and … were evaluated by a questionnaire devised and validated for this purpose. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software.Results: Average sound pressure level for the exposed group (65.32±5.23 dB) was significantly higher than that of the referent group (53.26±2.46 dB) (P<0.05). Similarly, the mean values of permanent threshold shift (dB) as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher in the exposed group than in their counterpart individuals (P<0.05). Likewise, symptoms such as headache and irritability were significantly more common among the exposed subjects. Conclusion: The findings suggest that exposure to sub-TLV levels of noise (recommended by ACGIH) in hospital environments is also associated with decreased hearing threshold, increased blood pressure, and prevalence of psycho-neural disorders.
