Humans ; Mental Health ; Occupational Health ; Stress, Psychological ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence and influence factors of hypertension among the workers exposed to noise in steel making and steel rolling workshop of an iron and steel plant.

METHODSUsing cluster sampling method, 3 150 workers exposed to noise participated in this study. According to do questionnaire survey and blood pressure measurement, 2 924 workers were tested, among which 1 313 workers were from steel making workshop and 1 611 workers were from steel rolling workshop. The relationships between different demographic characteristics, different habits, and different cumulative noise exposures of workers exposed to noise and hypertension were analyzed.

RESULTSFor the hypertension prevalence rate, the total prevalence rate was 27.43% (802/2 924), the male was higher than the female (29.88 % (753/2 520) vs 12.13% (49/404), χ² = 55.13, P < 0.001), married ones were higher than the unmarried (29.84% (718/2 406) vs 16.22% (84/518), χ² = 39.76, P < 0.001), the smoking subjects were higher than the no smoking (30.31% (438/1 445) vs 24.61% (364/1 479), χ² = 11.93, P = 0.001), drinking ones were higher than the no drinking (31.53% (541/1 716) vs 21.61% (261/1 208), χ² = 35.05, P < 0.001). The hypertension prevalence rates among the subjects with education background in junior high school and below, high school (secondary) and university and above were separately 44.96%(125/278), 29.95%(455/1 519) and 19.70%(222/1 127) (χ² = 81.65, P < 0.001), among cumulative exposure groups 77-89, 90-94, 95-99, 100-104 and 105-113 were separately 8.43% (14/166), 14.48% (53/366), 24.28% (297/1 223), 36.65% (335/914) and 40.39%(103/255) (χ² = 127.58, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that workers who exposed to cumulative noise in 95-99, 100-104 and 105-113 dB(A) ·year had the higher risk of hypertension, the OR (95%CI) were 1.84 (95% CI: 1.35-2.51), 1.74 (95% CI: 1.24-2.45) and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.09-2.58). Drinking (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.32-1.95) and BMI ≥ 24.0 kg/m² (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.22-1.30) were the risk factors for hypertension as well.

CONCLUSIONCumulative noise exposure, alcohol consumption and above normal BMI may affect the hypertension prevalence rate of the workers exposed to noise.

Alcohol Drinking ; Animals ; Demography ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Iron ; Male ; Noise ; Occupational Exposure ; Overweight ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; Steel ; Surveys and Questionnaires