A multicenter study on the audiometric findings of styrene-exposed workers.

Publisher: Informa Healthcare Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101140017 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1708-8186 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14992027 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Audiol Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: London : Informa Healthcare
Original Publication: Hamilton, Ont. : BC Decker, c2002-

Audiometry, Pure-Tone* ; Occupational Exposure*; Hearing Loss/*chemically induced ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/*chemically induced ; Noise/*adverse effects ; Occupational Diseases/*chemically induced ; Solvents/*adverse effects ; Styrene/*adverse effects; Acoustic Stimulation ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Auditory Threshold ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Europe/epidemiology ; Female ; Hearing Loss/diagnosis ; Hearing Loss/epidemiology ; Hearing Loss/prevention & control ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/diagnosis ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/epidemiology ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/prevention & control ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases/diagnosis ; Occupational Diseases/epidemiology ; Occupational Diseases/prevention & control ; Occupational Health Services ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Preventive Health Services ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate hearing loss among workers exposed to styrene, alone or with noise.
Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of NoiseChem, a European Commission 5th Framework Programme research project, by occupational health institutes in Finland, Sweden, and Poland.
Study Sample: Participants' ages ranged from 18-72 years (n = 1620 workers). Participants exposed to styrene, alone or with noise, were from reinforced fiberglass products manufacturing plants (n = 862). Comparison groups were comprised of workers noise-exposed (n = 400) or controls (n = 358). Current styrene exposures ranged from 0 to 309 mg/m(3), while mean current noise levels ranged from 70-84 dB(A). Hearing thresholds of styrene-exposed participants were compared with Annexes A and B from ANSI S3.44, 1996.
Results: The audiometric thresholds of styrene exposed workers were significantly poorer than those in published standards. Age, gender, and styrene exposure met the significance level criterion in the multiple logistic regression for the binary outcome 'hearing loss' (P = 0.0000). Exposure to noise (<85 dBA p = 0.0001; ≥85 dB(A) p = 0.0192) interacted significantly with styrene exposure.
Conclusions: Occupational exposure to styrene is a risk factor for hearing loss, and styrene-exposed workers should be included in hearing loss prevention programs.

0009736801 United States PHS HHS

0 (Solvents)
44LJ2U959V (Styrene)

Date Created: 20110805 Date Completed: 20120116 Latest Revision: 20131121

20221213

10.3109/14992027.2011.588965

21812635