title: Vapor, dust, and smoke exposure in relation to adult-onset asthma and chronic respiratory symptoms: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Tricia D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: LeVan
authors.forename: Woon-Puay
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Hin-Peng
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Mimi C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: London
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003371:Cough / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D004391:Dust; D005260:Female; D005740:Gases; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D009790:Occupations; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D012906:Smoke; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust; D005740:Gases; D012906:Smoke