Vapor, dust, and smoke exposure in relation to adult-onset asthma and chronic respiratory symptoms: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.
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.
LeVan
Tricia D
TD
Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Koh
Woon-Puay
WP
Lee
Hin-Peng
HP
Koh
David
D
Yu
Mimi C
MC
London
Stephanie J
SJ
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
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust; D005740:Gases; D012906:Smoke