We are grateful for the insightful comments in [1] regarding our systematic review on the relationship between occupational noise exposure and the risk of arterial hypertension [2] and the implications it may have for seafarers. We agree that the association between occupational noise exposure and the risk of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction requires further investigation. There is already some evidence for a positive association [3,4,5,6].
We also agree that the associations between occupational noise exposure of maritime workers and the development of hypertension or other cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease, require further investigation. The fact that noise exposure is not mentioned in existing summaries of occupational cardiovascular risk factors of seafarers [7] and that we could only include one study of seafarers [8] in our systematic review suggests that occupational noise exposure is still overlooked and under-researched in this occupational group. The unique maritime working environment could also provide especially valuable information on the effects of occupational noise exposure on cardiovascular health, as seafarers experience the same environmental noise exposures during their long confinements at sea. We believe that longitudinal studies would be particularly important in this context.
To prevent not only sensorineural hearing loss but also cardiovascular diseases, such as arterial hypertension, occupational physicians and technicians in all affected industries should promote appropriate technical, organizational and personal protective measures to reduce the level of occupational noise exposure.
Author Contributions
Writing—original draft preparation, U.B.-A. and J.H.; writing—review and editing, U.B.-A., A.N., A.F., A.P., J.H., and A.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Footnotes
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
References
- 1.David L., Brice L., Richard P., Jean Dominique D., Dominique J. Seafarers’ Occupational Noise Exposure and Cardiovascular Risk. Comments to Bolm-Audorff, U.; et al. Occupational Noise and Hypertension Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6281. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021;18:1149. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031149. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Bolm-Audorff U., Hegewald J., Pretzsch A., Freiberg A., Nienhaus A., Seidler A. Occupational noise and hypertension risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2020;17:6281. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17176281. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Dzhambov A.M., Dimitrova D.D. Occupational noise and ischemic heart disease: A systematic review. Noise Health. 2016;18:167. doi: 10.4103/1463-1741.189241. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Eriksson H.P., Forsell K., Andersson E. Mortality from cardiovascular disease in a cohort of Swedish seafarers. Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health. 2020;93:345–353. doi: 10.1007/s00420-019-01486-5. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Eriksson H.P., Söderberg M., Neitzel R.L., Torén K., Andersson E. Cardiovascular mortality in a Swedish cohort of female industrial workers exposed to noise and shift work. Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health. 2020 doi: 10.1007/s00420-020-01574-x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Skogstad M., Johannessen H.A., Tynes T., Mehlum I.S., Nordby K.C., Lie A. Systematic review of the cardiovascular effects of occupational noise. Occup. Med. Oxf. UK. 2016;66:10–16. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqv148. Erratum in 2016, 66, 500. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Oldenburg M. Risk of cardiovascular diseases in seafarers. Int. Marit. Health. 2014;65:53–96. doi: 10.5603/IMH.2014.0012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Jégaden D., Le Pluart C., Marie Y., Piquemal B. Contribution to the study noise-high blood 58 pressure. Concerning 455 merchant sailors aged 40–55 years. (Contribution à l’étude de la 59 relation bruit-hypertension artérielle. À propos de 455 marins de commerce âgés de 40 à 55 60 ans) Arch. Mal. Prof. 1986;47:15–20. [Google Scholar]