Occupational noise exposure and hypertension: the Dongfeng-Tongji Cohort Study

The association between occupational noise exposure and hypertension is unclear. We aimed to explore the association in a Chinese population and to summarize our findings with previous published articles. The cross-sectional study included 22,450 participants from Dongfeng-Tongji Cohort Study. In a subsample of 10,636 subjects, we assessed the association between hearing loss and hypertension. For the meta-analysis, we searched PubMed and EMBASE until April 2017, and the pooled odds ratio (OR) was combined using a random effect model. Compared with participants without occupational noise exposure, the risk of hypertension was significantly higher for noise exposure duration ≥20 (OR = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00-1.18). In the sex-specific analysis, the association was only significantly pronounced in males (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.03-1.31), but not in females (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.88-1.14). In the subsample analyses, hearing loss, which was an indicator for exposure to loud noise, was associated with a higher risk of hypertension, especially for participants who were bilateral hearing loss (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.24-1.54). In the meta-analysis, the pooled OR for the association between occupational noise exposure and hypertension was 1.25 (95% CI = 1.10-1.42). On the basis of an indicator for exposure to occupational noise, the cross-sectional study and meta-analysis identified occupational noise exposure as a potential risk factor for increased hypertension risk.