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Abstract
A cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the relationship between threshold shift in audiograms of workers exposed to industrial continuous noise in textile industry and changes in cardiovascular system and/or related risk factors.
The study involved 125 male workers randomly selected from one of the cotton textile factories in Alexandria, Egypt exposed to continuous noise in spinning and textile departments and an equal number of 125 non-exposed workers randomly selected from the administrative and finance departments in the same factory. The average noise level in these units was 80-85 dB as identified from the recent plant records.
Participants were subiected to a standardized modified questionnaire which included personal data, occupational data, smoking history, information about dietary habits, and present and past history of some, medical condition. Full clinical examination with special emphasis on the cardiovascular system was performed. Resting heart rate, blood pressure (systolic, diastolic pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure), and body mass index were determined. Audiometry was carried out in a quiet room for all workers to detect those showing occupational noise effect (TTS, TTS & PTS, PTS) I wo settings of audiometry were carried out with at least 16 hours apart In each setting two audiograms were done one before work shift and the other immediately after work shift. Changes in the audiograms in the form of diminished hearing at 4000 Hz at the end of work shift in relation to preshift audiogram with notching appearance at not up to the level to produce manifest ischaemic changes in resting ECG or may be due to limited insitivity of resting ECG for diagnosis of minor ischaemic changes that might be diagnosed by more specific procedures.
Diastolic hypertension and total serum hypercholesterolemia were more encountered among exposed workers than among controls especially in group I (TTS only) and group II (TTS & PTS). On the other hand, serum hypertriglyceridemia and serum LDL-hypercholesterolemia were more common among exposed workers than controls especially among group II (TTS & PTS) Such finding may indicate that group I and II are still reactive to noise stress which was reflected upon diastolic blood pressure and total serum cholesterol. Also, such parameters are more sensitive to noise stress and so changes in them appears early even with temporal changes in hearing i.e. TTS only. The absence of such changes in group III with permanent loss of hearing may support our suggestion especially analysis of total twenty four hours urinary catecholamines was negatively related to the severity of hearing loss.