Thaindian News

London, Oct 6 (IANS) Working in a noisy environment like a factory more than doubles the risk of serious heart problems, a new study says.

The risk increases fourfold in the under-50s, the study warns, adding that young male smokers are also affected by noise.

A US team studied more than 6,000 employees over a five-year period, dividing them into those who endured persistent loud noise at work for at least three months and those who did not.

They found those in noisy environments tended to weigh and smoke more than those who worked in quiet offices, reports the British Medical Journal.

Among workers under 50, the link with noise was particularly strong. They were between three and four times as likely to have angina or coronary artery disease or to have had a heart attack, according to the Daily Mail.

The authors say: “Loud noise day after day may be as strong an external stressor as sudden strong emotion or physical exertion, the effect of which is to prompt various chemical messengers to constrict blood flow through the coronary arteries.”

“This study suggests that excess noise exposure in the workplace is an important occupational health issue.”

June Davison of the British Heart Foundation said: “Some people find sustained noise very taxing and stressful and that could explain this link between noisy workplaces and an increased risk of heart disease.”