Stress and prevalence of hearing problems in the Swedish working population

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Barbara Canlon¹  Dan Hasson²  Martin Benka Wallén²  Constanze Leineweber³  Töres Theorell³ 

[1] Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden;Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden;Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: Hearing Loss;    Poor Sleep Quality;    Hearing Problem;    Proportional Odds Model;    Unadjusted Odds Ratio;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-130

 received in 2010-06-09, accepted in 2011-02-23,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCurrent human and experimental studies are indicating an association between stress and hearing problems; however potential risk factors have not been established. Hearing problems are projected to become among the top ten disabilities according to the WHO in the near future. Therefore a better understanding of the relationships between stress and hearing is warranted. Here we describe the prevalence of two common hearing problems, i.e. hearing complaints and tinnitus, in relation to different work-and health-related stressors.MethodsA total of 18,734 individuals were invited to participate in the study, out of which 9,756 (52%) enrolled.ResultsThe results demonstrate a clear and mostly linear relationship between higher prevalence of hearing problems (tinnitus or hearing loss or both) and different stressors, e.g. occupational, poorer self-rated health, long-term illness, poorer sleep quality, and higher burnout scores.ConclusionsThe present study unambiguously demonstrates associations between hearing problems and various stressors that have not been previously described for the auditory system. These findings will open new avenues for future investigations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Hasson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011