Duration of Workplace Noise Exposure and Blood Pressure among Rural Adult Weavers

Abstract This study aimed to determine the effect of duration of noise exposure on blood pressure among rural adult powerloom weavers. A cross-sectional study was done among 289 adult workers of selected weaving factories of Araihazar, Narayanganj, Bangladesh from January to December 2023. A semi-structured questionnaire, containing socio-demographic data, behavioral factors, family history, and disease history was developed as a data collection tool and data was collected by face-to-face interview. Blood pressure, height, weight, and noise intensity were measured accordingly.Among participants, 94.1% were male, 84.4% were married, and more than one-third were without formal education; their mean age was 34.41±10.17. The respondents’ mean duration of workplace exposure was 15.97 years and the measured intensity of noise inside the factories was 105.45 dB (96-111 dB). The mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 124.52 mmHg and the mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 82.93 mmHg. The prevalence of hypertension was 31.5% among the weavers and 53.3% were prehypertensive. Both SBP (R 0.320, p-value <0.01) and DBP (R 0.366, p-value <0.01) had a significant positive correlation with the duration of exposure. Linear regression also significantly predicted SBP (p-value <0.01) and DBP (p-value <0.01) for the duration of noise exposure. In multinomial regression, for each year of exposure, the odds of hypertension increase by 10% (AOR 1.1, p-value <0.05) after adjusting for BMI, age, and smoking. Herein, we were able to demonstrate that duration noise exposure is independently associated to elevated blood pressure and increases the odds of hypertension. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Ethical approval was granted by the ethics committee of National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (approval number NIPSOM/IRB/2023/06). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data Availability All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors 14 Data Availability Statement The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.