SUBJECTIVE WORK NOISE - A MAJOR RISK FACTOR IN MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

The relationship between subjective work noise exposure and the risk o f myocardial infarction (MI) was assessed in a population based case-c ontrol study. 395 MI patients (31-65 years) were compared to 2148 cont rols from a random population sample with the same age/sex distributio n. The relative risk (RR) for MI - adjusted for control variables (smo king, age, social status, etc.) - was found to increase significantly and steadily with noise category. Subjective work noise exposure was t he second greatest risk factor for MI after smoking. Possible bias due to overreporting of subjective noise exposure is discussed. Interdisc iplinary studies on the. relationship between cardiovascular diseases and work-related stressors including subjective and objective noise as sessment are needed to quantify the risk of MI due to work noise.