Effect of cumulated noise exposure on the intima-media thickness of carotid artery in steel workers / 中国职业医学

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of cumulative noise exposure(CNE) on the intima-media thickness(IMT) of carotid artery in steel workers. METHODS: A cluster random sampling method was used to select 1 437 noise exposed workers in a steel company as study subjects. The CNE was calculated according to the noise intensity of the workplace, and the occupational health check was carried out to construct the structural equation model of noise to IMT. RESULTS: The detection rate of carotid atherosclerosis(CAS) in these 1 437 subjects was 38.3%. The CAS detection rates of steel workers increased with the increasing CNE(P<0.01). The structural equation model had good fitting effect. Path analysis showed CNE can indirectly affect IMT through blood pressure, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, homocysteine, high-density lipoprotein & apolipoprotein A, low-density lipoprotein & apolipoprotein B. The total effects were-0.375, 0.337, 0.248, 0.117, 0.056, 0.056 and 0.018 respectively. CONCLUSION: CNE can indirectly increase the IMT of steel workers by acting on the proximal cause.