فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Introduction: Workers in different jobs are exposed to noise, which can affect hearing loss andsleep disturbance in the long term. Excessive noise exposure may lead to increased bloodpressure, reduced efficiency, and increased absenteeism. Materials and Methods: In thiscase‑control study, 80 workers were studied in terms of noise exposure and blood pressure.Noise exposure was measured by SEL 440 sound level meters according to ISO 1996 standard.Blood pressure of the case and control groups was measured in workplace, under standardcircumstances, using ALPK2 mercury sphygmomanometer during physical examination. Datawere analyzed by t‑test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: Mean level of noise was95.21 ± 2.56 db, which was significantly higher than permitted limit of 85 db (ACGIH 2009) (P <0.01). Diastolic blood pressure was normal in 28.8% and high in 50.1%, and between these in21.1% of workers. Mean difference of systolic blood pressure in two studied groups (P < 0.01)was meaningful. However, mean difference of diastolic blood pressure was not significant in twostudied groups (P > 0.05). There was a positive and weak relationship between noise and systolicblood pressure (r = 0.28, P < 0.006). Conclusion: Prolonged exposure to industrial noise is relatedwith high blood pressure as a risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is recommendedthat training programs be held for workers, preventive measures for noise exposure at workplacebe taken, blood pressure of workers be attended to and special care be given to workers with ahistory of hypertension.