ABSTRACT Background and Aims This study aimed to determine the effect of the duration of noise exposure on blood pressure among rural adult power loom weavers. Methods A cross‐sectional study was done among 289 adult workers of selected weaving factories of Araihazar, Narayanganj, Bangladesh, from January 2023 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 were collected by face‐to‐face interview. Blood pressure, height, weight, and noise intensity were measured accordingly. Results 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. Conclusion Herein, we were able to demonstrate that duration noise exposure is independently associated with elevated blood pressure and increases the odds of hypertension.
Prince et al. (Wed,) studied this question.