Subjective work noise: a major risk factor in myocardial infarction

The relationship between subjective work noise exposure and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) was assessed in a population based case-control study. 395 MI patients (31-65 years) were compared to 2148 controls from a random population sample with the same agelsex distribution. The relative risk (RR) for MI-adjusted for control variables (smoking, age, social status, etc.)-was found to increase significantly and steadily with noise category. Subjective work noise exposure was the second greatest risk factor for MI after smoking. Possible bias due to overreporting of subjective noise exposure is discussed. Interdisciplinary studies on the relationship between cardiovascular diseases and work-related stressors including subjective and objective noise assessment are needed to quantify the risk of MI due to work noise.