Saúde auditiva em Itajubá (MG): estudo de base populacional

Abstract

Noise is considered a relevant stressor in both occupational and urban environments, and is associated with several adverse health outcomes, such as annoyance, sleep disorders, metabolic problems, and hearing and cardiovascular problems. Epidemiological research has focused on large urban centers, especially on traffic noise, while studies in small and medium-sized cities are scarce. The main objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between noise exposure and health. Specifically, we sought to investigate the associations between self-reported exposure to urban or occupational noise and self-reported outcomes, such as arterial hypertension, diabetes, noise-related hearing loss, hearing difficulty, annoyance, and sleep disturbances. In addition, the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and hearing difficulty was estimated. The study was conducted in the city of Itajubá, in the south of Minas Gerais, and adopted an analytical cross-sectional design, using questionnaires adapted from the 2013 National Health Survey (IBGE). Unconditional logistic regression was applied to identify variables associated with the outcomes noise-induced deafness (SPR), degree of hearing difficulty (GDA), annoyance due to traffic noise (IRT) and impairment to sleep and health due to traffic noise (PSSRT). In the univariate analysis for SPR, only the age variable showed a significant association (OR = 1.08; 95%CI: 1.01–1.15). There were no significant associations in the multiple analysis of SPR. For GDA, the univariate analysis revealed associations with age (OR = 1.14; 95%CI = 1.07–1.20), socio-occupational stratum (OR = 0.26; 95%CI = 0.08– 0.85), systemic arterial hypertension (OR = 5.31; 95%CI = 2.01–14.03) and exposure to occupational noise (OR = 7.61; 95%CI = 2.38–24.31). In the multiple analysis, the best-fit model included age (OR = 1.13; 95%CI = 1.06–1.20), occupational noise exposure (OR = 5.68; 95%CI = 1.30–24.67), and socio-occupational stratum (OR = 0.17; 95%CI = 0.03–0.82). Alternative models also showed associations of GDA with hypertension (OR = 4.28; 95%CI = 1.53–11.96) and diabetes (OR = 3.32; 95%CI = 1.04–10.59). The variables IRT and PSSRT did not show statistically significant associations. Further studies are recommended to overcome the limitations found in this research and to deepen knowledge about the effects of noise on the health of the population of Itajubá