Association between self-reported occupational noise and the prevalence of stroke: Secondary analysis of the National Health Interview Survey, 2014

Evidence of occupational noise as a risk factor for stroke is very scarce and comes mainly from outside the US. The present study aimed to explore the association between self-reported occupational noise exposure and the prevalence of stroke in the US general population. Public-use primary data from the National Health Interview Survey, 2014 was used for secondary analysis. Employing weighted logistic regression, this study looked at the effect of very loud noise exposure during participants' occupational lifetime on self-reported stroke. The model was adjusted for sociodemographics, lifestyle and co-morbidity. Predictive validity of self-reported noise was tested within the same framework, using as dependent variables other well-established cardiovascular outcomes of objectively measured noise. Results showed that, in comparison to never exposed participants, those exposed longer than 1 year had increased prevalence of stroke. Self-reported noise had a high predictive validity, as it was associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension, myocardial infarction and angina pectoris. Most estimates were not statistically significant, but they were sufficiently precise to be interpreted as nonspurious. Overall, self-reported noise exposure was associated with an increased prevalence of stroke in the US. Due to the limitations of the study, the results are probably biased towards the null and conservative.