Association Between Occupational Exposure to Disinfectants and Asthma in Young Adults Working in Cleaning or Health Services: Results From a Cross-Sectional Analysis in Germany. Issue 9 (September 2019) - Weinmann, Tobias
Abstract : Objective: To analyze the association of occupational disinfectants use with asthma and wheezing in young professionals. Methods: Three hundred sixty-five participants from the German Study on Occupational Allergy Risks II aged 20 to 24 years and working in cleaning or health services answered a questionnaire on respiratory health, occupational exposure to disinfectants, and potential confounders. By logistic regression, we calculated the association between duration of occupational disinfectants exposure and doctor-diagnosed asthma, current asthma, and current wheezing. Results: Individuals exposed to disinfectants for more than 12 months had almost three times the odds of doctor-diagnosed asthma compared with those not exposed (odds ratio [OR]: 2.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.36–6.55). Conclusions: Our findings provide some further evidence for an association between occupational exposure to disinfectants and asthma, indicating that this association can be seen already after the first year of exposure.