Serum cortisol levels in pre and post journal labor and non auditory manifestations in noise exposed workers of a brewer industry

The purpose of this work was to determine the effects of environmental noise in the serum cortisol levels pre and post journal labor and the presence of non-auditory manifestations in workers of a brewer industry. A transversal study was carried out selecting at random 40 workers exposed to noise from the packing area, with ages between 20 and 55 years; and 40 workers from the administrative area without occupational exposition. The exposition was established by means of a medical-occupational history. A 5 mL whole blood sample was taken from each worker pre and post labor day to measure the serum cortisol for electrochemoluminescence. The level of industrial noise was evaluated with a model Quest 1700 sonometer. In the exposed group, there was a higher post labor day serum cortisol concentration than in the control group (p < 0.05). The non auditory manifestations registered were: migraine (50%), gastrointestinal dysfunctions (10%), hypertension (17.75%), irritability (27.5%), insomnia (55%); in spite of the use of auditory protectors in 92.5% of the workers. The levels of noise were > 85 dBA in all the workstations studied. There was not a significant relationship between the intensity of the noise in the workstations and the levels of serum cortisol.