Association of Noise Exposure, Arterial Stiffness, and Blood Pressure in Chinese Adults

BACKGROUND: Occupational noise is considered one of the most common occupational hazards all over the world. We aimed to explore the association between occupational noise exposure and blood pressure in Chinese adults, and the mediating role of arterial stiffness in the above-mentioned association. METHODS: We surveyed machinery manufacturing company workers in Wuhan, China. Occupational noise was assessed using cumulative noise exposure (CNE). Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was detected by a BP-203RPE III net-worked arteriosclerosis detection device. Generalized linear models and bootstrap mediating analyses were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 839 participants were included in the study. In the analysis between cumulative noise exposure (CNE) and blood pressure, the β value for systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 0.119 (95% confidential interval [CI]: 0.010, 0.227) and the β value for diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 0.162 (95% CI: 0.083, 0.241). CNE was positively associated with baPWV (β = 0.002, 95% CI = 0.001, 0.003), and baPWV was positively associated with SBP (β = 51.080, 95% CI = 44.726, 57.433) and DBP (β = 35.927, 95% CI = 31.253, 40.602). baPWV mediated the associations between CNE and blood pressure; the mediation proportion was 62.41% for SBP and 37.14% for DBP, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that occupational noise exposure is associated with elevated blood pressure, and that arterial stiffness mediated the positive association between occupational noise and blood pressure. Appropriate measures should be implemented to control for occupational noise exposure and to protect workers from cardiovascular diseases in the workplace.