American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on May 17, 2006
American Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/aje/kwj144
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1 Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. 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.
Received August 23, 2005
Accepted December 8, 2005
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Vapor, Dust, and Smoke Exposure in Relation to Adult-Onset Asthma and Chronic Respiratory Symptoms
Tricia D. LeVan 1,
Woon-Puay Koh 2,
Hin-Peng Lee 2,
David Koh 2,
Mimi C. Yu 3,
and
Stephanie J. London 4 *
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
Stephanie J. London, E-mail: london2{at}niehs.nih.gov
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