ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Occupational noise exposure and ischemic heart disease: a pooled analysis of six Nordic cohorts
1
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
2
Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
3
Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology Care Science and Society, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
4
Danish Cancer Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
5
Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
6
Region Västra Götaland, Department of Medicine Geriatrics and Emergency Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
7
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
8
Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
9
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
10
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
11
Department of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
12
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
13
Department of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland
14
Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
15
Department of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland
16
School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
17
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Submission date: 2026-04-28
Online publication date: 2026-10-18
KEYWORDS
occupational noiseexposureischemic heart diseaseNordicacute myocardial infarctioncardiovascular diseaseIHDjob-exposure matrixoccupational exposureroad traffic noiseJEM
ABSTRACT
Objective(s):
Objectives This study aimed to investigate the impact of occupational noise exposure on incident ischemic heart disease (IHD), including acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Methods:
We conducted a pooled analysis of six Nordic cohorts with a total of 83 103 participants with individual and area-level confounder information. Occupational codes were matched to a job-exposure matrix developed from Swedish measurements in five categories (LAeq8h): <70, 70–74, 75–79, 80–84, and ≥85 dB(A). Residential address history was used to estimate baseline 1-year average residential road traffic noise exposure. Data on incident IHD and AMI were obtained from national patient registers. We calculated hazard ratios (HR) using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.
Results:
After adjustment for baseline year, sex, marital status, area-level income, education, smoking, and physical activity, exposure to ≥85 dB(A) of occupational noise was associated with an 10% and 12% increased risk of IHD, excluding angina pectoris, and AMI, respectively. For these outcomes, suggestive exposure–response trends were observed, but risks were only statistically significant for those exposed to ≥85 dB(A) as well as men exposed to ≥75 dB(A). We did not find evidence that combined exposure to both occupational noise and road traffic noise was particularly harmful.
Conclusion(s):
We found increased risks of IHD and AMI among those exposed to occupational noise ≥85 dB(A). Further studies should investigate whether this association is confounded by other occupational exposures.
Objectives This study aimed to investigate the impact of occupational noise exposure on incident ischemic heart disease (IHD), including acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Methods:
We conducted a pooled analysis of six Nordic cohorts with a total of 83 103 participants with individual and area-level confounder information. Occupational codes were matched to a job-exposure matrix developed from Swedish measurements in five categories (LAeq8h): <70, 70–74, 75–79, 80–84, and ≥85 dB(A). Residential address history was used to estimate baseline 1-year average residential road traffic noise exposure. Data on incident IHD and AMI were obtained from national patient registers. We calculated hazard ratios (HR) using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.
Results:
After adjustment for baseline year, sex, marital status, area-level income, education, smoking, and physical activity, exposure to ≥85 dB(A) of occupational noise was associated with an 10% and 12% increased risk of IHD, excluding angina pectoris, and AMI, respectively. For these outcomes, suggestive exposure–response trends were observed, but risks were only statistically significant for those exposed to ≥85 dB(A) as well as men exposed to ≥75 dB(A). We did not find evidence that combined exposure to both occupational noise and road traffic noise was particularly harmful.
Conclusion(s):
We found increased risks of IHD and AMI among those exposed to occupational noise ≥85 dB(A). Further studies should investigate whether this association is confounded by other occupational exposures.
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