The Effects of Noise Pollution on Arterial Blood Pressure and Heart Pulse Rate of Doctors in their Dental Offices in Jenin City - Palestine

This study reports the relationship between occupational noise levels with arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and heart pulse rate for dentists in their offices chosen randomly in Jenin City. The mean age of the sample doctors (dentists) is 40 year, and the mean duration of their service is 13.8 year. The noise levels measured during operational periods in the chosen dental offices were found to be between 90.5 and 91.7 dB. The arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and heart pulse rate of doctors were measured before and after exposure to noise for four hours. Strong positive correlation (Pearson Correlation Coefficient) with noise pollution was found for all measured variables. The mean blood pressure, for examples, has Pearson's Coefficient R = 0.629 for systolic and R = 0.475 for diastolic. In addition, heart pulse rate has a Pearson's Coefficient R = 0.560. This study shows that after four hours of work, there is a significant increase in the mean measured values of blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and heart pulse rate. The systolic blood pressure mean, for example, is increased by 4.4 mm-Hg, while the diastolic blood pressure mean is increased by 3.8 mm-Hg, and finally, the heart pulse rate mean is increased by 3.6 beats/minute. In addition, significant dependence is noticed between mean values of arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and heart pulse rate from one side, and doctors' ages and duration of their serving years from the other side.