Occupation and adult-onset asthma among Chinese women in a population-based cohort.
BACKGROUND
Exposure to industrial irritants is believed to have contributed to the increasing prevalence of asthma worldwide. We examined the associations between occupation and asthma among women in a case-control study nested in the population-based Shanghai Women's Health Study cohort in China.


METHODS
Cases were 1,050 women who reported a physician-diagnosed asthma as adults. Controls were 4,200 women matched to the cases by year of birth and age at diagnosis. Lifetime occupational histories were obtained. Logistic regression was applied to estimate odds ratios (ORs) adjusting for smoking, education, family income, and concurrent chronic bronchitis.


RESULTS
Asthma is more prevalent in production industries for metal tools (OR = 2.4; 1.3-4.7), metal products for everyday use (OR = 1.6; 1.1-2.4), ships (OR = 2.6; 1.0-6.8), and clocks (OR = 1.9; 1.0-3.4), and in occupations as farm workers (OR = 4.0; 1.2-13.0), laboratory technicians and analyzers (OR = 2.2; 1.2-3.9), and installation and maintenance workers for weaving and knitting machineries (OR = 2.4; 1.1-5.4). Other associations less commonly reported were identified for electricians (OR = 2.1; 1.1-4.1), performers (OR = 3.2; 1.4-7.4), administrative workers in organizations and enterprises (OR = 1.8; 1.1-2.8), and postal and telecommunication workers (OR = 3.5; 1.6-7.6).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that occupational exposures contribute to the development of asthma in women.
Krstev
Srmena
S
Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Ji
Bu-Tian
BT
Shu
Xiao-Ou
XO
Blair
Aaron
A
Zheng
Wei
W
Lubin
Jay
J
Vermeulen
Roel
R
Hauptmann
Michael
M
Rothman
Nathaniel
N
Gao
Yu-Tang
YT
Mustafa
Dosemeci
D
Chow
Wong-Ho
WH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors