The impact of prolonged exposure to generator noise on stress hormones and immune function in male wistar rats

Noise is an environmental factor that results in the activation of stressful stimuli and is known to activate the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, leading to disruptions of homeostatic activity. The study aims to ascertain the impact of prolonged exposure to generator noise on stress hormones and immune function in Male Wistar rats.Twenty-eight-(28) Male Wistar Rats weighing 120-150g were used in this study and were randomly divided into four (4) groups of seven (7) rats each. Group A served as normal control and received feed and water ad libitum. Group B was exposed to generator noise for 1 hour daily, Group C was exposed to generator noise for 2 hours daily, and Group D was exposed to generator noise for 4 hours daily. Exposure to prolonged generator noise lasted for eight weeks, and exposure was done between the hours of 8 am to 2 pm daily.Data for haematological indices were analysed using SPSS version 25 using ANOVA followed by Post Hoc LSD comparison and values were considered significant at p<0.05. The result showed thatCortisol, epinephrine, and CD4+ level showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the treated groups compared to the control. CD8+ level significantly increased in groups C and D compared to the control. The study concluded that generator noise negatively affected cortisol, epinephrine, CD4+ and CD8+ cells in Wistar rats.