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Workplace
Original research
Fraction of acute work-related injuries attributable to hazardous occupational noise across the USA in 2019
  1. Abas Shkembi1,
  2. Lauren Smith1,
  3. Benjamin Roberts2,
  4. Richard Neitzel1
  1. 1 Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  2. 2 Cardno ChemRisk, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Richard Neitzel, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; rneitzel{at}umich.edu

Abstract

Introduction The contribution of hazardous noise—a ubiquitous exposure in workplaces—to occupational injury risk is often overlooked. In this ecological study, the fraction of US workplace acute injuries resulting in days away from work in 2019 attributable to hazardous occupational noise exposure was estimated.

Methods Using the NoiseJEM, a job exposure matrix of occupational noise, and 2019 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, the proportion of workers experiencing hazardous occupational noise (≥85 dBA) was estimated for every major US Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) group. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated for each major SOC group using the relative risk (RR) taken from a published 2017 meta-analysis on this relationship.

Results About 20.3 million workers (13.8%) are exposed to hazardous levels of occupational noise. Nearly 3.4% of acute injuries resulting in days away from work in 2019 (95% CI 2.4% to 4.4%) were attributable to hazardous occupational noise, accounting for roughly 14 794 injuries (95% CI 10 367 to 18 994). The occupations with the highest and the lowest PAFs were production (11.9%) and office and administrative support (0.0%), respectively.

Discussion Hazardous noise exposure at work is an important and modifiable factor associated with a substantial acute occupational injury burden.

  • occupational health
  • noise
  • wounds and injuries
  • cross-sectional studies

Data availability statement

Data are available in public, open access repositories.

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107906

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available in public, open access repositories.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors RN had full access to all of the data in the study, takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis, and is the guarantor of the study. Concept and design: AS. Acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data: AS, LS. Drafting of the manuscript: AS. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: LS, BR, RN. Statistical analysis: AS.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.