1. Coexposure to Solvents and Noise as a Risk Factor for Hearing Loss in Agricultural Workers.
- Author
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Farfalla, Alexandra A., Beseler, Cheryl, Achutan, Chandran, and Rautiainen, Risto
- Subjects
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PUBLIC health surveillance , *SOLVENTS , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *NOISE , *OCCUPATIONAL exposure , *RISK assessment , *SURVEYS , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *NOISE-induced deafness , *STATISTICAL sampling , *LOGISTIC regression analysis , *ODDS ratio , *AGRICULTURAL laborers , *DISEASE risk factors - Abstract
Noise and solvent exposures are common in agriculture work. In 7,495 operators, noise and solvent exposure jointly increased the risk of hearing loss. Rural healthcare providers and agricultural safety and health experts should consider discussing the risks of co-exposure to noise and solvents in those at risk of hearing loss. Objective: This study addressed the relationship of hearing loss and coexposure to solvents and noise among farmers and ranchers in central United States. Methods: The surveillance study included surveys to stratified random samples of operations in 2018 and 2020 (n = 34,146), requesting information on injuries, illnesses, exposures, and preventive measures. Responses (n = 7495) were analyzed using hierarchical multinomial logistic regression, adjusting for personal and work characteristics. Results: Nearly 60% of respondents exposed to both solvents and noise reported hearing loss. The exposures increased the adjusted odds of moderate/severe hearing loss as follows: solvents alone, (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93–2.38), noise alone (OR, 4.42; 95% CI, 3.39–5.76), and coexposure to both noise and solvents (OR, 6.03; 95% CI, 4.67–7.78). Conclusions: Solvent exposure, along with noise, should be considered in hearing conservation programs among farmers and ranchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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