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Changes in urinary catecholamines in response to noise exposure in workers at Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex, Kerman, Iran

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Abstract

Noise is one of the most harmful agents in the workplace. In addition to the adverse effects of noise on the auditory system, as a stressor it may cause increased blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, and impaired secretion of hormones. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in urinary catecholamines in workers exposed to industrial noise. This is an experimental study of the workers at the smelter section of Sarcheshmeh Copper Industries done on two separate days. During the first day, urine samples from 20 workers who did not use any hearing protection device, were collected during an 8-h work shift and on the second day the same was done but they were asked to use earplugs. Also 20 people were selected as a control group from people who were not exposed to noise at work. Urinary catecholamine levels were measured with ELISA kits. The mean urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine levels in the workers (without earplugs) was respectively 8.69 and 35.56 μg/8h on the first day and on the second day (with earplugs) dropped to 6.45 and 30.95 μg/8h. Noise reduction by earplugs led to almost significant reductions in urinary epinephrine (p = 0.05) and significant reductions in norepinephrine (p = 0.02). The results showed that with noise reduction the urinary excretion of stress hormones, especially norepinephrine significantly decreases and workers are probably less prone to stress-related disorders.

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Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank Dr. Parviz Dabiri’s Laboratory for their guidance and cooperation in measuring catecholamines. The authors also thank the personnel and workers of the Sarcheshmeh Copper Industries, Kerman, for their cooperation for conducting this research. This research project was approved at the Committee of Environmental Medicine at the School of Public Health and was funded by the Deputy of Research of Kerman Medical University and the Center for Occupational Disease Research at the Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Occupational Health Department, School of Public Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Ghotbi

  2. Research Center for Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Narges Khanjani

  3. Occupational Health, Occupational Health Department, School of Public Health, Yazd University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

    Abolfazl Barkhordari

  4. Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Somayeh Rahimi Moghadam

  5. Research and Development Unit, Sarcheshmah Copper Complex, Kerman, Iran

    Abbas Mozaffari

  6. Department of Endocrinology, Shahid Bahonar Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Kerman Medical University, Kerman, Iran

    Mohammad Hosein Gozashti

Authors
  1. Mohammad Reza Ghotbi
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  2. Narges Khanjani
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  3. Abolfazl Barkhordari
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  4. Somayeh Rahimi Moghadam
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  5. Abbas Mozaffari
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  6. Mohammad Hosein Gozashti
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Correspondence to Somayeh Rahimi Moghadam.

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Ghotbi, M.R., Khanjani, N., Barkhordari, A. et al. Changes in urinary catecholamines in response to noise exposure in workers at Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex, Kerman, Iran. Environ Monit Assess 185, 8809–8814 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3213-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3213-4

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