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Occupational and environmental medicine
Research
Association of respiratory symptoms and asthma with occupational exposures: findings from a population-based cross-sectional survey in Telemark, Norway
  1. R Abrahamsen1,2,
  2. A K M Fell1,
  3. M V Svendsen1,
  4. E Andersson3,
  5. K Torén3,
  6. P K Henneberger4,
  7. J Kongerud2,5
  1. 1Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Telemark Hospital, Skien, Norway
  2. 2Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  3. 3Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Institute of Medicine, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
  4. 4Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
  5. 5Department of Respiratory Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  1. Correspondence to Dr Regine Abrahamsen; regine.abrahamsen{at}sthf.no

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and physician-diagnosed asthma and assess the impact of current occupational exposure.

Design Cross-sectional analyses of the prevalence of self-reported respiratory health and association with current occupational exposure in a random sample of the general population in Telemark County, Norway.

Settings In 2013, a self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of the general population, aged 16–50, in Telemark, Norway. The overall response rate was 33%, comprising 16 099 responders.

Outcome measures The prevalence for respiratory symptoms and asthma, and OR of respiratory symptoms and asthma for occupational groups and exposures were calculated. Occupational exposures were assessed using self-reported exposure and an asthma-specific job-exposure matrix (JEM).

Results The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 11.5%. For the occupational groups, the category with agriculture/fishery workers and craft/related trade workers was associated with wheezing and asthma attack in the past 12 months, showing OR 1.3 (1.1 to 1.6) and 1.9 (1.2 to 2.8), respectively. The group including technicians and associated professionals was also associated with wheezing OR 1.2 (1.0 to 1.3) and asthma attack OR 1.4 (1.1 to 1.9). The JEM data show that exposure to flour was associated with wheezing OR 3.2 (1.4 to 7.3) and woken with dyspnoea OR 3.5 (1.3 to 9.5), whereas exposures to diisocyanates, welding/soldering fumes and exposure to vehicle/motor exhaust were associated with dyspnoea OR 2.9 (1.5 to 5.7), 3.2 (1.6 to 6.4) and 1.4 (1.0 to 1.8), respectively.

Conclusions The observed prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 11.5%. The ‘manual’ occupations were associated with respiratory symptoms. Occupational exposure to flour, diisocyanates, welding/soldering fumes and vehicle/motor exhaust was associated with respiratory symptoms in the past 12 months and use of asthma medication. However, prospective data are needed to confirm the observed associations.

  • respiratory disease
  • EPIDEMIOLOGY
  • Questionaire
  • Occupational
  • Population-based study
  • Job exposure matrix

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014018

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors RA, MVS, PKH, KT, JK and AKMF were involved in the design of the study. RA was involved in the data collection, data analyses, data management, data interpretation and primary manuscript preparation. AKMF was involved in the data collection, data management, data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript. MVS was involved in the data collection, data analyses, data management, data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript. EA contributed to the data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript. KT was involved in data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript. PKH was involved in data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript. JK was involved in the data interpretation and critical revision of the manuscript. All authors provided input on the manuscript, and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

    • Funding This work was supported by funding from Telemark Hospital, Norway.

    • Disclaimer The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethics approval This study was conducted with the approval of The Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics in Norway (REC 2012/1665).

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data sharing statement No additional data are available.