Abstract：
Numerous studies have suggested that noise exposure might be associated with changes in stress hormone levels. However, quantitative evidence for these effects in humans is rare and remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of exposure to noise and its different levels on stress hormone changes in task performance. Quasi-experimental noise exposure environment was established for 90 male university student volunteers in their twenties, and each was exposed to different noise levels during task performance. The stress hormones tested included cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), adrenaline, and noradrenaline. A one-way ANOVA was performed to investigate differences in hormone levels measured in the three groups according to the noise exposure levels (35, 45, or 75 dB). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to adjust for confounding factors that might affect hormone levels. After adjusting for confounders, significant exposure-dependent differences were found in hormone levels in salivary cortisol, serum cortisol, serum ACTH, and serum adrenaline. The amount of hormonal increase in 75 dB exposure group compared to 35 or 45 dB groups was detected. Similar results were also seen in the rate of change analysis. Our findings indicate that short-term noise exposure during task performance elevates stress hormone levels. Further, the extent of stress hormone alterations varies with noise exposure levels. Changes in hormone levels are an objective measure that may be used to identify health effects and stress responses in various noise environments.
摘要：
许多研究表明，噪声暴露可能与应激激素水平的变化有关。然而,这些对人类影响的定量证据很少，仍然存在争议。本研究旨在探讨噪声暴露及其不同水平对任务表现中应激激素变化的急性影响。为90名20多岁的男大学生志愿者建立了准实验噪声暴露环境,在任务执行期间，每个人都暴露在不同的噪声水平下。测试的压力荷尔蒙包括皮质醇，促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH），肾上腺素,和去甲肾上腺素.进行单向方差分析以根据噪声暴露水平（35、45或75dB）研究三组中测得的激素水平的差异。协方差分析（ANCOVA）用于调整可能影响激素水平的混杂因素。在调整了混杂因素后，唾液皮质醇激素水平存在显著的暴露依赖性差异，血清皮质醇,血清ACTH,和血清肾上腺素.检测到75dB暴露组与35或45dB组相比的激素增加量。在变化率分析中也看到了类似的结果。我们的发现表明，任务执行过程中的短期噪声暴露会提高应激激素水平。Further,应激激素改变的程度随噪声暴露水平而变化。激素水平的变化是一种客观测量，可用于识别各种噪声环境中的健康影响和应激反应。
