Abstract
                 Background: Continuous exposure to occupational noise may create physiological derangements of parameters pertaining  to stress and anxiety of an individual’s life. Controversial outcomes over the years from different studies made this a topic  of debate. Aims and Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of noise exposure on blood pressure of  textile mill workers depending on the intensity of noise. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 male textile mill workers  were enrolled for the study. 30 workers from each section including weaving, spinning, packaging and administration  section, of the textile mill on the basis of noise level, were selected. They were categorized into groups on the basis of high  noise exposure and low noise exposure. The age group criteria for this study were 35-55 years. Blood pressure of this study  population was estimated using sphygmomanometer using auscultatory method. Body mass index and heart rate were  also noted. Results: Significant results were obtained in this study. 22.5% workers were found to be hypertensive in this  study population. The maximum numbers of hypertensive were found in weaving section. 5.8% workers of the total study  population were having isolated systolic hypertensive and isolated diastolic hypertensive. Systolic blood pressure (SBP),  diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and pulse pressure (PP) were found be significantly higher  in high noise group (<0.05) compared to low noise group. Highest levels of SBP, DBP, MAP, and PP were found in weaving  section with noise level between 95 and 100 db. Heart rate was also found to be significantly (<0.05) increased in high  noise group. Conclusion: Continuous exposure to occupational noise may lead to adverse changes in blood pressure from  mild risk to moderate risk depending on the intensity of noise. It may give lead to cardiovascular abnormalities, e.g., stroke  and myocardial infarction. Occupational noise with higher intensity (>90 db) may be associated with hypertension.