Cho Seunghyeon, Park Won-Ju, Ahn Ji-Sung, Lim Dae-Young, Kim Su-Hwan, Moon Jai-Dong
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School and Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Republic of Korea.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Mokpo Hankook Hospital, Mokpo, Republic of Korea.
Arch Environ Occup Health. 2023;78(2):108-117. doi: 10.1080/19338244.2022.2094306. Epub 2022 Jul 14.
This study aimed to investigate the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk and hearing impairment among workers exposed to occupational noise. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 607 healthy male workers at a tire-manufacturing factory. The subjects underwent audiometric testing, and their OSA risk was examined based on the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Hearing impairment was defined as a hearing threshold >25 dB hearing level (HL) in any frequency of 1, 2, 3 and 4 kHz in either ear. High OSA risk was defined as a STOP-bang score of ≥3. Hearing thresholds at 1, 2, 3 and 4 kHz in both ears were significantly higher among workers with high OSA risk than among those with low OSA risk after adjusting for confounders. Multiple logistic regression analysis examining the association of OSA risk and STOP-Bang score with hearing impairment revealed an odds ratio of 1.738 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.113-2.713, = 0.015) and 1.256 (95% CI 1.031-1.529, = 0.023), respectively, after adjusting for confounders. In addition, when the hearing impairment was reclassified into high- and low-frequency hearing impairment, a statistically significant OR was seen for high-frequency hearing impairment. In conclusion, high OSA risk was associated with hearing impairment in occupational noise-exposed workers, especially in the high-frequency range of 3 and 4 kHz. More efforts are required to improve the management of OSA and its risk factors to preserve hearing in occupational noise-exposed workers.
本研究旨在调查职业噪声暴露工人中阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）风险与听力障碍之间的关联。对一家轮胎制造厂的607名健康男性工人进行了一项横断面研究。受试者接受了听力测试，并根据STOP-Bang问卷检查其OSA风险。听力障碍定义为任一耳在1、2、3和4kHz的任何频率下听力阈值>25dB听力级（HL）。高OSA风险定义为STOP-bang评分≥3。在调整混杂因素后，高OSA风险工人双耳在1、2、3和4kHz的听力阈值显著高于低OSA风险工人。多元逻辑回归分析检查OSA风险和STOP-Bang评分与听力障碍的关联，结果显示在调整混杂因素后，优势比分别为1.738（95%置信区间[CI]1.113 - 2.713，P = 0.015）和1.256（95%CI 1.031 - 1.529，P = 0.023）。此外，当将听力障碍重新分类为高频和低频听力障碍时，高频听力障碍的优势比具有统计学意义。总之，高OSA风险与职业噪声暴露工人的听力障碍相关，尤其是在3和4kHz的高频范围内。需要做出更多努力来改善OSA及其危险因素的管理，以保护职业噪声暴露工人的听力。
