What is already known about this topic? Preterm birth (PTB) is a major public health concern. While noise exposure and gestational hypertension (GH) are recognized risk factors for PTB, evidence on their independent and combined effects among female workers remains limited. What is added by this report? Using PSM and logistic regression in 7,886 female manufacturing and mining workers, this study confirmed an overall PTB prevalence of 9.3%. Occupational noise and GH independently elevated PTB risk, with a significant positive additive interaction and the highest risk in the co-exposed group adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=4.06, 95% (CI): 2.14, 7.70; relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI)=1.11, attributable proportion (AP)=27.34%, synergy index (S)=1.57. What are the implications for public health practice? Targeted, integrated public health interventions are needed to reduce PTB risk among female workers, including occupational noise control in manufacturing and mining settings, routine GH screening and management during pregnancy, and enhanced surveillance for workers exposed to both risk factors.
Aihua et al. (2026) studied this question.