Occupational Risk Factors for Asthma Among Nurses and Related Healthcare Professionals in an International Study

Overview

Journal Occup Environ Med

Specialties Environmental Health
Occupational Medicine

Date 2007 Mar 3

PMID 17332135

Citations 40

Authors

Maria C Mirabelli

Jan-Paul Zock

Estel Plana

Josep Maria Anto

Geza Benke

Paul D Blanc

Anna Dahlman-Hoglund

Deborah L Jarvis

Hans Kromhout

Linnea Lillienberg

Dan Norback

Mario Olivieri

Katja Radon

Jordi Sunyer

Kjell Toren

Marc Van Sprundel

Simona Villani

Manolis Kogevinas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The authors examined the relations between self-reported work tasks, use of cleaning products and latex glove use with new-onset asthma among nurses and other healthcare workers in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS II).

Methods: In a random population sample of adults from 22 European sites, 332 participants reported working in nursing and other related healthcare jobs during the nine-year ECRHS II follow-up period and responded to a supplemental questionnaire about their principal work settings, occupational tasks, products used at work and respiratory symptoms. Poisson regression models with robust error variances were used to compare the risk of new-onset asthma among healthcare workers with each exposure to that of respondents who reported professional or administrative occupations during the entire follow-up period (n = 2481).

Results: Twenty (6%) healthcare workers and 131 (5%) members of the referent population reported new-onset asthma. Compared to the referent group, the authors observed increased risks among hospital technicians (RR 4.63; 95% CI 1.87 to 11.5) and among those using ammonia and/or bleach at work (RR 2.16; 95% CI 1.03 to 4.53).

Conclusions: In the ECRHS II cohort, hospital technicians and other healthcare workers experience increased risks of new-onset current asthma, possibly due to specific products used at work.

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Respiratory and Other Hazard Characteristics of Substances in Cleaning Products Used in Healthcare Centres in England and Wales.

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Cleaning Tasks and Products and Asthma Among Health Care Professionals.

Patel J, de Porras D, Mitchell L, Carson A, Whitehead L, Han I J Occup Environ Med. 2023; 66(1):28-34.

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