title: Quality of life and employment status of workers with Western red cedar asthma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The impact of current employment status and other factors on quality of life was evaluated for workers diagnosed with western red cedar asthma in British Columbia, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Telephone interviews by questionnaire included the Short Form 36 (SF-36) and Marks Asthma quality-of-life instruments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 302 subjects contacted, 70.5% (n = 213) participated. Employment status was the most consistent predictor of quality-of-life domains, with highest scores for employed subjects, particularly those who were no longer exposed to red cedar. Subjects who had quit work because of their asthma had worse scores, particularly for vitality and general health perceptions. Other factors independently associated with specific aspects of poor quality of life were having asthma-like symptoms, taking medication, and not being married.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Continued employment was associated with better quality of life for workers with western red cedar asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, VGH Research Pavilion, 390-828 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver BC V5Z 1L8, Canada. hward@interchange.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dimich-Ward
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Taliadouros
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Teschke
authors.forename: Yat
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Raja
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abboud
authors.forename: Moira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chan-Yeung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001955:British Columbia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018653:Juniperus / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014197:Trees