Effect of Occupational Noise Exposure on the Cardiovascular System

[Objective]To explore the effect of occupational noise exposure on the cardiovascular system and the influential factors. [Methods]Cross-sectional epidemiological study, including questionnaire survey, work environment surveillance and occupational health examination, was conducted on 1906 workers (953 cases for the noise exposure group and 953 cases for the control) from 17 factories. [Results]The abnormal rate of ECG in the exposure group was 16.7% that was significantly higher than that of control (9.8%) (P0.05); the rate of hypertension in the exposure group was 11.9% that was significantly higher than that of the control (7.5%) (P0.05); significant difference was found between the 3 groups under the age of 50 but was not found between the groups above the age of 50(P0.05). [Conclusion]Occupational noise exposure might be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases; age is an important factor in such study.