The jobs ‘most likely to increase your risk of killer high blood pressure’

THE SUN

WORKING in a noisy environment such as a factory raises the risk of high blood pressure, warns new research.

The danger increases 10 per cent for each year in employment on loud industrial machinery, scientists say.

Persistent noise exposure at work has already been linked to hearing loss and reduced concentration, plus physical and psychological stress.

But the new study found that in adult power loom weavers, chronic noise exposure not only hiked their blood pressure overall, but also each year of exposure increased their odds of the condition.

Study lead author Dr Golam Dastageer Prince said: “While the mechanism is still not well-explored, it is thought that the stress response by the body to chronic sound exposure causes hormonal imbalances that gradually leads to a permanent elevation of blood pressure.

“High blood pressure impacts more than a billion people worldwide and just one in five have it under control, yet it is a major cause of premature death.

“In addition to treating the high blood pressure through appropriate means, we must find ways to mitigate the exposure to the noise if we want to reduce the cardiovascular risk of these patients.”

Researchers at the Directorate of General Health Services (DGHS) in Bangladesh looked at 289 adult workers in selected weaving factories in the city of Narayanganj from January to December 2023.

Participants took part in a face-to-face interview to complete a questionnaire covering socio-demographic factors, behaviour, dietary habits and family medical history.

Blood pressure, height, weight and noise intensity were measured following standard procedures.

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