Association of noise exposure with risk of metabolic syndrome: Evidence from 44,698 individuals.

Aims: Previous studies have explored the association between noise exposure and risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS); however, the results remain inconclusive.

Methods: PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched through December 2020, multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RRs) were pooled by using random-effects models. Subgroup analysis was also conducted stratifying by gender, study location, study design, source of noise, study quality, adjusting for smoking, drinking, body mass index, physical activity and shift work.

Results: Five studies involving 44,698 participants and 5187 MetS cases were included. A summarized adjusted RR for the relationship between noise exposure and risk of MetS was 1.27 (95% CI, 1.02-1.60), and 1.11 (1.02-1.21) for blood pressure and 1.11 (1.06-1.17) for blood glucose. Subgroup analysis revealed that the pooled risk of MetS was statistically significant in all cohort studies (RR = 1.34, 95 %CI, 1.06-1.68), ambient/traffic noise (RR = 1.24, 95 %CI, 1.13-1.35) and occupational noise by removing one low quality study (RR = 2.21, 95 %CI, 1.41-3.44).

Conclusions: Noise exposure is associated with an increased risk of MetS, and occupational noise exposure may result in a greater risk. Additional more prospective large-scale studies conducted in more countries or populations are needed to confirm the results, establish causality and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.