Association between occupational noise exposure and depressive symptoms among employees in a petrochemical enterprise

Jianye PENG; Zhuna SU; Ruilian MO; Jiaxin LI; Qisheng WU; Shiheng FAN; Bingxian ZHOU; De’e YU; Jing ZHANG

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Association between occupational noise exposure and depressive symptoms among employees in a petrochemical enterprise

VernacularTitle:职业性噪声暴露对某石油炼化企业职工抑郁症状的影响
Author: Jianye PENG ¹ ; Zhuna SU ¹ ; Ruilian MO ¹ ; Jiaxin LI ¹ ; Qisheng WU ¹ ; Shiheng FAN ¹ ; Bingxian ZHOU ¹ ; De’e YU ¹ ; Jing ZHANG ¹
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1. School of Public Health/Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education/The Heinz Mehlhorn Academician Working Station, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, Hainan 571199, China.
Publication Type:Selectedarticle
Keywords: noise; petroleum; depressive symptom; employee; occupational stress; sleep quality
From: Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2026;43(2):189-195
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Background Depressive symptoms have become a significant factor affecting the physical and mental health of the occupational population, and workers in petroleum refining enterprises face multiple stressors in their work environment. Objective To explore the impact of occupational noise exposure on depressive symptoms among workers in a petroleum refining enterprise. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2024 using a questionnaire survey among workers of a petroleum refining enterprise in Hainan Province. Basic information of the subjects was collected. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure depressive symptoms, the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale was used to assess sleep quality, and the Chinese version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) scale was used to evaluate occupational stress. Chi-square test was employed to compare the differences in reporting depressive symptoms among populations with different characteristics. Binary logistic regression models were used to analyze the impact of occupational noise exposure and other factors on depressive symptoms. Results The overall positive rate of depressive symptoms in the study population was 42.7%. The results of the multifactor analysis indicated that compared with the control group, employees in both the low-exposure and high-exposure groups had elevated odds of depressive symptoms, with OR (95%CI) of 2.244 (1.131, 4.454) and 1.970 (1.009, 3.850), respectively. This association remained robust after adjusting for potential confounders, including gender, age, work tenure, and other occupational exposures. Additionally, female [OR (95%CI)=1.483 (1.039, 2.118)], exposure to benzene, toluene, or xylene [OR (95%CI)=1.621 (1.208, 2.174)], sleep disturbance [OR (95%CI)=3.772 (2.942, 4.838)], and occupational stress [OR (95%CI)=2.018 (1.575, 2.585)] were also significantly associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms. Conclusion The positive rate of depressive symptoms is relatively high among employees in this petrochemical enterprise, and occupational noise exposure may be a risk factor for depressive symptoms.