Cudjoe Francis Amanle, Opoku Douglas Aninng, Ayisi-Boateng Nana Kwame, Osarfo Joseph, Boateng Kofi Sekyere, Sackey Lydon Nii Adjiri, Cobbina Edgar Andoh, Yankson Isaac Kofi, Sulemana Alhassan
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Tarkwa Mine, Tarkwa, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 19;20(9):e0332600. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0332600. eCollection 2025.
The mining industry is one of the sectors that uses heavy-duty equipment in its daily operations. This exposes miners to undesirable noise levels, increasing their risks of health-related problems. However, published data on the health effects of occupational noise exposure on miners in Ghana are limited, and this can affect potential interventions to promote miners' health and safety. This study, therefore, assessed noise-exposure levels and associated health-related problems among heavy-duty equipment operators and other exposed workers in a mining firm in Ghana.
A cross-sectional study involving 316 randomly selected heavy-duty equipment operators and exposed workers was conducted from 29th March 2023-31st May 2023. Data on socio-demographic and work-related characteristics, including age, mining experience, knowledge of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), noise exposure levels and health-related problems, were collected using a pretested questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to identify significant predictors of health-related problems.
The mean age of study participants was 33.8 (±7.5) years with a range of 21-60 years. The prevalence of health-related problems in the twelve months before the study was 55.7%. The commonly reported health-related problems included hearing difficulties (84.1%), hearing loss (49.4%), and sleeping difficulties (36.9%). Approximately 68.6% of the workers were exposed to noise levels that were unacceptable. After adjusting for significant covariates, factors such as working experience of 5-9 years (AOR: 4.25, 95%CI: 1.92-9.40), inadequate knowledge of NIHL (AOR:1.78, 95%CI: 1.03-3.09) and exposure to unacceptable noise levels (AOR = 5.52, 95%CI = 2.91-10.48) were independently associated with health-related problems.
The prevalence of health-related problems among the workers was high. Potential strategies, including a hearing conservation program to promote health and safety among these workers at the workplace, should target reducing the exposure to high noise levels and increasing awareness of NIHL.
采矿业是日常运营中使用重型设备的行业之一。这使矿工暴露于不良噪音水平，增加了他们出现健康相关问题的风险。然而，关于加纳职业噪音暴露对矿工健康影响的已发表数据有限，这可能会影响促进矿工健康与安全的潜在干预措施。因此，本研究评估了加纳一家矿业公司中重型设备操作员和其他暴露工人的噪音暴露水平及相关健康问题。
2023年3月29日至2023年5月31日进行了一项横断面研究，涉及316名随机选择的重型设备操作员和暴露工人。使用预先测试的问卷收集社会人口统计学和工作相关特征的数据，包括年龄、采矿经验、噪声性听力损失（NIHL）知识、噪音暴露水平和健康相关问题。采用逻辑回归模型确定健康相关问题的显著预测因素。
研究参与者的平均年龄为33.8（±7.5）岁，年龄范围为21至60岁。研究前十二个月内健康相关问题的患病率为55.7%。常见的健康相关问题包括听力困难（84.1%）、听力损失（49.4%）和睡眠困难（36.9%）。约68.6%的工人暴露于不可接受的噪音水平。在调整了显著协变量后，5至9年的工作经验（优势比：4.25，95%置信区间：1.92 - 9.40）、NIHL知识不足（优势比：1.78，95%置信区间：1.03 - 3.09）和暴露于不可接受的噪音水平（优势比 = 5.52，95%置信区间 = 2.91 - 10.48）等因素与健康相关问题独立相关。
工人中健康相关问题的患病率很高。包括听力保护计划在内的潜在策略，以促进这些工人在工作场所的健康与安全，应旨在减少高噪音水平的暴露并提高对NIHL的认识。
