RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Occupational risk factors for asthma among nurses and related healthcare professionals in an international study
JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JO Occup Environ Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 474
OP 479
DO 10.1136/oem.2006.031203
VO 64
IS 7
A1 Maria C Mirabelli
A1 Jan-Paul Zock
A1 Estel Plana
A1 Josep Maria Antó
A1 Geza Benke
A1 Paul D Blanc
A1 Anna Dahlman-Höglund
A1 Deborah L Jarvis
A1 Hans Kromhout
A1 Linnéa Lillienberg
A1 Dan Norbäck
A1 Mario Olivieri
A1 Katja Radon
A1 Jordi Sunyer
A1 Kjell Torén
A1 Marc van Sprundel
A1 Simona Villani
A1 Manolis Kogevinas
YR 2007
UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/64/7/474.abstract
AB 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.