Combined Effects of Noise and Shift Work on Fatigue as a Function of Age

The study was conducted to analyse possible interactions between noise and shift work on fatigue as a function of age. In a large questionnaire survey, we assessed personal and environmental risk factors related to fatigue. Noise exposure at work (LAeq, 8hr) was measured with personal noise dosimetry. The sample included 254 day and shift workers, and was divided into 2 age groups (<40- and >40-year-olds). Noise exposure had a main effect on fatigue. The highest noise exposure resulted in an increase in the fatigue level of older shift workers. The quantity of sleep mainly depended on the type of shift and age. Our data suggest that the most important factor generating fatigue could be related to industrial noise exposure, a factor which seems to aggravate work-related fatigue generated in a synergic manner by shift work and ageing. Senior workers should be prevented from cumulating those occupational stressors.

[1]  T. Åkerstedt,et al.  Work load and work hours in relation to disturbed sleep and fatigue in a large representative sample. , 2002, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[2]  S. Muecke,et al.  Effects of rotating night shifts: literature review. , 2005, Journal of advanced nursing.

[3]  S. Melamed,et al.  The effects of chronic industrial noise exposure on urinary cortisol, fatigue and irritability: a controlled field experiment. , 1996, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[4]  J. Harrington,et al.  Health effects of shift work and extended hours of work , 2001 .

[5]  T S Kristensen,et al.  Work schedules and fatigue: a prospective cohort study , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[6]  J. Marquié,et al.  Sleep, age, and shiftwork experience , 1999, Journal of sleep research.

[7]  B. Gitanjali,et al.  Effect of Acute Exposure to Loud Occupational Noise during Daytime on the Nocturnal Sleep Architecture, Heart Rate, and Cortisol Secretion in Healthy Volunteers , 2003, Journal of occupational health.

[8]  W. Karwowski.  International encyclopedia of ergonomics and human factors , 2001 .

[9]  P Bech,et al.  Fatigue in the Danish general population. Influence of sociodemographic factors and disease , 2000, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[10]  Anders Kjellberg,et al.  Fatigue after work in noise - an epidemiological survey study and three quasi-experimental field studies. , 1998, Noise & health.

[11]  M. Frese,et al.  Shiftwork and the length and quality of sleep. , 1984, Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association.

[12]  H. G. Leventhall,et al.  Low frequency noise and annoyance. , 2004, Noise & health.

[13]  S. Stansfeld,et al.  Noise and Health in the Urban Environment , 2000, Reviews on environmental health.

[14]  M. Härmä,et al.  The triad of shift work, occupational noise, and physical workload and risk of coronary heart disease , 2006, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[15]  T. Åkerstedt,et al.  Age and adjustment to night work. , 1994, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[16]  Göran Kecklund,et al.  Mental fatigue, work and sleep. , 2004, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[17]  M. Härmä,et al.  Individual differences in tolerance to shiftwork: a review. , 1993, Ergonomics.

[18]  B Gitanjali,et al.  Effect of occupational noise on the nocturnal sleep architecture of healthy subjects. , 2003, Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology.

[19]  L. Glazner.  Shiftwork: Its Effect on Workers , 1991, AAOHN journal : official journal of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.

[20]  M. Fantahun,et al.  Shift work and sleep disorder among textile mill workers in Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia. , 1999, East African medical journal.

[21]  L. A. Perkins.  Is the night shift worth the risk , 2001 .

[22]  M Muzammil,et al.  Effect of noise on human performance under variable load in a die casting industry--a case study. , 2004, Journal of environmental science & engineering.