PURPOSE: To investigate the association between self-reported exposure to disturbing noise and risk of long-term sickness absence (LTSA) for more than two consecutive weeks among office workers. METHODS: LTSA was measured using register data that were linked to survey data from 2,883 office workers aged 18-59 who were surveyed in 2005 on exposure to disturbing noise. The risk of LTSA was investigated using Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Of the study population, 4.4 % had LTSA in the 1-year follow-up period. Compared to office workers who were 'rarely or never' exposed to disturbing noise at work, office workers who reported being 'frequently' exposed to disturbing noise had a significantly increased estimated risk of LTSA when adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, and managerial position (HR = 1.90; 95 % CI, 1.12-3.22). After additional adjustment for psychosocial work conditions, the estimated risk of LTSA for office workers who were frequently exposed to disturbing noise became marginally insignificant (HR = 1.73; 95 % CI, 0.99-3.01). A subgroup analysis showed that women who reported being frequently exposed to disturbing noise had a significantly increased estimated risk of LTSA (HR = 1.94; 95 % CI, 1.04-3.64), whereas the corresponding risk for men was insignificant (HR = 1.28; 95 % CI, 0.37-4.41). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that frequent self-reported exposure to disturbing noise at work is associated with increased risk of LTSA among office workers and that this association may be stronger for women than for men.
PURPOSE: To investigate the association between self-reported exposure to disturbing noise and risk of long-term sickness absence (LTSA) for more than two consecutive weeks among office workers. METHODS: LTSA was measured using register data that were linked to survey data from 2,883 office workers aged 18-59 who were surveyed in 2005 on exposure to disturbing noise. The risk of LTSA was investigated using Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Of the study population, 4.4 % had LTSA in the 1-year follow-up period. Compared to office workers who were 'rarely or never' exposed to disturbing noise at work, office workers who reported being 'frequently' exposed to disturbing noise had a significantly increased estimated risk of LTSA when adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, and managerial position (HR = 1.90; 95 % CI, 1.12-3.22). After additional adjustment for psychosocial work conditions, the estimated risk of LTSA for office workers who were frequently exposed to disturbing noise became marginally insignificant (HR = 1.73; 95 % CI, 0.99-3.01). A subgroup analysis showed that women who reported being frequently exposed to disturbing noise had a significantly increased estimated risk of LTSA (HR = 1.94; 95 % CI, 1.04-3.64), whereas the corresponding risk for men was insignificant (HR = 1.28; 95 % CI, 0.37-4.41). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that frequent self-reported exposure to disturbing noise at work is associated with increased risk of LTSA among office workers and that this association may be stronger for women than for men.
Authors: Jesper Kristiansen; Søren Peter Lund; Roger Persson; Hitomi Shibuya; Per Møberg Nielsen; Matthias Scholz Journal: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Date: 2014-01-25 Impact factor: 3.015
Authors: Aviroop Biswas; Shireen Harbin; Emma Irvin; Heather Johnston; Momtaz Begum; Maggie Tiong; Dorothy Apedaile; Mieke Koehoorn; Peter Smith Journal: Am J Ind Med Date: 2022-05-16 Impact factor: 3.079