Shi Zhihao, Wang Xin, Gao Xiangjing, Xie Hongwei, Zhou Lifang, Zhang Meibian
School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 14;13:870312. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.870312. eCollection 2022.
There is little literature on the validity of kurtosis-adjusted noise energy metrics in human studies. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the application of cumulative noise exposure (CNE) adjusted by kurtosis in evaluating occupational hearing loss associated with non-Gaussian noise among manufacturing workers.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1,558 manufacturing workers exposed to noise from five industries to collect noise exposure and hearing loss data. Both CNE and kurtosis-adjusted CNE (CNE') were collapsed into 2-dB(A)∙year bins, and the mean noise-induced permanent threshold shifts at 3, 4, and 6 kHz (NIPTS) in each bin were calculated. The contributions of CNE and CNE' to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) were compared using the multiple linear regression. The degree of overlap of two linear regression equations (i.e., between CNE' and NIPTS for non-Gaussian noise and between CNE and NIPTS for Gaussian noise) was used to evaluate the validity of the CNE' using a stratified analysis based on age and sex.
Multiple linear regression models showed that after kurtosis adjustment, the standardized regression coefficient of CNE increased from 0.230 to 0.255, and increased from 0.147 to 0.153. The linear relationship between NIPTS and CNE' or CNE showed that the regression line of non-Gaussian noise was closer to that of Gaussian noise when using CNE' than using CNE. The mean difference in NIPTS between the equations of non-Gaussian noise and Gaussian noise was significantly reduced from 4.32 to 1.63 dB HL after kurtosis adjustment ( = 12.00, < 0.001). Through a stratified analysis, these significant decreases were observed in male and female workers, and workers aged ≥30 years old.
As a noise exposure metric combining noise energy and temporal characteristics, the kurtosis-adjusted-CNE metric was more effective than CNE alone in assessing occupational hearing loss among manufacturing workers in non-Gaussian noise environment. However, more studies are needed to verify the validity of the kurtosis-adjusted-CNE metric.
关于峰度调整后的噪声能量指标在人体研究中的有效性的文献较少。因此，本研究旨在验证经峰度调整的累积噪声暴露（CNE）在评估制造业工人中与非高斯噪声相关的职业性听力损失中的应用。
对1558名来自五个行业且暴露于噪声中的制造业工人进行横断面调查，以收集噪声暴露和听力损失数据。将CNE和经峰度调整的CNE（CNE'）均归为2 dB(A)·年的区间，并计算每个区间内3、4和6 kHz处的平均噪声性永久性阈移（NIPTS）。使用多元线性回归比较CNE和CNE'对噪声性听力损失（NIHL）的贡献。基于年龄和性别进行分层分析，利用两个线性回归方程（即非高斯噪声的CNE'与NIPTS之间以及高斯噪声的CNE与NIPTS之间）的重叠程度来评估CNE'的有效性。
多元线性回归模型显示，经峰度调整后，CNE的标准化回归系数从0.230增加到0.255， 从0.147增加到0.153。NIPTS与CNE'或CNE之间的线性关系表明，使用CNE'时非高斯噪声的回归线比使用CNE时更接近高斯噪声的回归线。经峰度调整后，非高斯噪声和高斯噪声方程之间NIPTS的平均差异从4.32显著降低至1.63 dB HL（ = 12.00， < 0.001）。通过分层分析，在男性和女性工人以及年龄≥30岁的工人中均观察到了这些显著下降。
作为一种结合噪声能量和时间特征的噪声暴露指标，经峰度调整的CNE指标在评估非高斯噪声环境下制造业工人的职业性听力损失方面比单独的CNE更有效。然而，需要更多研究来验证经峰度调整的CNE指标的有效性。
