PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - David Vizcaya
AU  - Ramon Orriols
AU  - Maria Mirabelli
AU  - Josep-Maria Antó
AU  - Felip Burgos
AU  - Jan-Paul Zock
TI  - The use of cleaning products at work and at home and asthma symptoms: a nested case-control study in employees of cleaning companies
AID  - 10.1136/oemed-2011-100382.261
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - Occupational and Environmental Medicine
PG  - A80--A80
VI  - 68
IP  - Suppl 1
4099  - http://oem.bmj.com/content/68/Suppl_1/A80.1.short
4100  - http://oem.bmj.com/content/68/Suppl_1/A80.1.full
SO  - Occup Environ Med2011 Sep 01; 68
AB  - Objectives Cleaning workers are at elevated risk of asthma. Many products used in this sector are also widely used in private homes. We studied the relationships between asthma symptoms and the use of specific cleaning products at work and at home. Methods Forty-two cases (mean age 42 y) with asthma symptoms and 53 controls (age 48 y) without a history of asthma or lower respiratory tract symptoms participated in a case-control study nested within a cohort of cleaning workers. Information on the use of cleaning products at work and at home in the last year was obtained in face-to-face interviews. Associations between asthma and the use of specific cleaning products at work were evaluated using logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, smoking status and domestic use. Results Hypochlorite bleach (91%), soaps (61%) and acidic scale removers (45%) were the most frequently used products at work. Use of ammonia and multi-use cleaners at work was reported more often among cases than controls; OR 2.7 (95% CI 0.9 to 8.3) and 2.3 (0.7 to 6.9), respectively. The risks increased with the duration of use (p-trend for multi-use 0.05). The highest risks were found when products were used both at work and at home (multi-use cleaners OR 4.8; 1.3 to 18, ammonia OR 3.2; 0.7 to 15). Conclusions Exposure to irritant cleaning products at work and at home is associated with asthma symptoms. These results support the hypothesis that asthma in cleaning workers is predominantly irritant-induced.