Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Journal
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Health care workers are at risk for work-related asthma, which may be affected by changes in cleaning practices. We examined associations of cleaning tasks and products with work-related asthma in health care workers in 2016, comparing them with prior results from 2003.
METHODS: We estimated asthma prevalence by professional group and explored associations of self-reported asthma with job-exposure matrix-based cleaning tasks/products in a representative Texas sample of 9914 physicians, nurses, respiratory/occupational therapists, and nurse aides.
RESULTS: Response rate was 34.8% (n = 2421). The weighted prevalence rates of physician-diagnosed (15.3%), work-exacerbated (4.1%), and new-onset asthma (6.7%) and bronchial hyperresponsiveness symptoms (31.1%) were similar to 2003. New-onset asthma was associated with building surface cleaning (odds ratio [OR], 1.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-3.33), use of ortho-phthalaldehyde (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.15-2.72), bleach/quaternary compounds (OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.10-3.33), and sprays (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.12-3.47).
CONCLUSION: Prevalence of asthma/bronchial hyperresponsiveness seems unchanged, whereas associations of new-onset asthma with exposures to surface cleaning remained, and decreased for instrument cleaning.
Keywords
Humans, Occupational Exposure, Health Personnel, Asthma, Physicians, Occupations, Occupational Diseases, Detergents
DOI
10.1097/JOM.0000000000002990
PMID
37801602
PMCID
PMC10841035
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
1-1-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes
