American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on May 17, 2006
American Journal of Epidemiology 2006 163(12):1118-1128; doi:10.1093/aje/kwj144
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Original Contribution |
Vapor, Dust, and Smoke Exposure in Relation to Adult-Onset Asthma and Chronic Respiratory Symptoms
The Singapore Chinese Health Study
1 Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
2 Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
3 University of Minnesota Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN
4 Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC
Correspondence to Dr. Stephanie J. London, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, P.O. Box 12233, Mail Drop A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 (e-mail: london2{at}niehs.nih.gov).
Occupational factors contribute to a significant fraction of respiratory disease and symptoms. The authors evaluated the role of occupational exposures in asthma, chronic bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms in the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a population-based cohort of adults aged 45–74 years at enrollment in 1993–1998. Information on occupations and occupational exposures was collected at enrollment for 52,325 subjects for whom respiratory outcomes were obtained via follow-up interviews in 1999–2004. Exposure to dusts from cotton, wood, metal, minerals, and/or asbestos was associated with nonchronic cough and/or phlegm (odds ratio (OR) = 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08, 1.30), chronic bronchitis (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.57), and adult-onset asthma (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.30). Cotton dust was the major contributor to respiratory symptoms. Vapor exposure from chemical solvents, dyes, cooling oils, paints, wood preservatives, and/or pesticides was associated with nonchronic cough or phlegm (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.27), chronic dry cough (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.01), and adult-onset asthma (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.56). Chemical solvents, cooling oils, and pesticides were the major contributors to respiratory symptoms. These data support the role of occupational exposures in the etiology of respiratory illness in a population-based cohort in Singapore with a low prevalence of atopic illness.
asthma; bronchitis, chronic; occupational diseases; occupational exposure; pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; OR, odds ratio
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