Department of Dental Hygiene, Kyungbok University, Namyangju, Korea.
Department of Preventive and Social Dentistry, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea.
J Periodontol. 2018 Apr;89(4):431-439. doi: 10.1002/JPER.17-0484.
Chronic exposure to occupational noise is reported to cause a wide range of health problems. But, there are no reports on studies investigating the association between noise exposure and periodontitis. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between occupational noise exposure and periodontitis in a nationally representative sample of Korean workers.
This cross-sectional study used data from the 4 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study sample included 8,927 workers aged 19 to 54 years. Noise exposure assessment was performed by using self-report questionnaires. The dependent variable was periodontitis. Age, sex, perceived stress level, place of residence, income, education, health behaviors (frequency of daily toothbrushing, binge drinking, smoking status, regular dental checkup), diabetes, obesity, and white blood cell count were included as covariates. Logistic regression analyses estimated the association between noise exposure and periodontitis after sequential adjustment.
Compared with never-exposed individuals, participants exposed to occupational noise had an increased prevalence of periodontitis. The association remained significant after full adjustment of covariates (odds ratio [OR] 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06 to 1.70). Association of noise exposure with periodontitis was particularly strong for individuals aged < 45 years (OR 1.65; 95% CI 1.22 to 2.23).
Our study shows that there is an association between occupational noise exposure and periodontitis in a representative sample of Korean workers. Policy efforts to improve workplace noise environments might have an effect on improving periodontal health status among Korean workers.
据报道，慢性职业性噪声暴露可导致多种健康问题。但是，目前尚无研究报告探讨噪声暴露与牙周炎之间的关系。本研究旨在调查韩国工人职业性噪声暴露与牙周炎之间的关系。
本横断面研究使用了来自韩国 4 次全国健康和营养检查调查的数据。研究样本包括 8927 名年龄在 19 至 54 岁的工人。噪声暴露评估是通过使用自我报告问卷进行的。因变量为牙周炎。年龄、性别、感知压力水平、居住地点、收入、教育、健康行为（每天刷牙频率、狂饮、吸烟状况、定期牙科检查）、糖尿病、肥胖和白细胞计数被纳入协变量。在逐步调整协变量后，使用 logistic 回归分析估计噪声暴露与牙周炎之间的关联。
与从未暴露于噪声的个体相比，暴露于职业性噪声的个体牙周炎的患病率增加。在充分调整协变量后，这种关联仍然显著（比值比[OR] 1.34；95%置信区间[CI] 1.06 至 1.70）。对于年龄<45 岁的个体，噪声暴露与牙周炎的关联尤为强烈（OR 1.65；95% CI 1.22 至 2.23）。
本研究表明，在韩国工人的代表性样本中，职业性噪声暴露与牙周炎之间存在关联。改善工作场所噪声环境的政策努力可能会对改善韩国工人的牙周健康状况产生影响。
