title: Occupational dust or gas exposure and prevalences of respiratory symptoms and asthma in a general population.
abstract: The relationship of occupational airborne, exposure to respiratory symptoms and asthma was examined using a self-administered questionnaire in a cross-sectional survey of a random sample (n = 4,992 subjects) of the general population aged 15-70 yrs of Hordaland county, Norway. The response rate was 90%. Twenty nine percent of the population had a history of occupational dust or gas exposure, 5% reported having been exposed to asbestos at work, and 4% reported quartz exposure. A history of occupational dust or gas exposure was associated with morning cough, chronic cough, phlegm when coughing, breathlessness on exercise, occasional wheezing and a physician's diagnosis of asthma after adjusting for sex, age, smoking habits and urban-rural area of residence. The adjusted relative odds ratios for the respiratory disorders in subjects exposed to dust or gas ranged from 1.6-1.9. The population attributable risk of occupational dust or gas exposure for the respiratory disorders ranged from 11-19%. The study indicates that respiratory disorders are independently associated with occupational airborne exposure in a Norwegian general population sample.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Thoracic Medicine, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bakke
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Eide
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanoa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gulsvik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004391:Dust / Q000009:adverse effects; D005740:Gases / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust; D005740:Gases