title: Occupation and the prevalence of respiratory health symptoms and conditions: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine associations between occupation and respiratory health in a large, population-based cohort of adults in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 15,273 participants, aged 45 to 64 years, in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study were used to examine associations of current or most recent job held with the prevalence of self-reported chronic cough, chronic bronchitis, wheezing, asthma, and measures of lung function collected by spirometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven percent of participants reported wheezing and 9% were classified as having airway obstruction. Compared with individuals in managerial and administrative jobs, increased prevalences of respiratory outcomes were observed among participants in selected occupations, including construction and extractive trades (wheezing, prevalence ratio = 1.92, 95% confidence interval = 1.35, 2.73; airway obstruction, prevalence ratio = 1.31, 95% confidence interval = 1.05, 1.65).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Specific occupations are associated with adverse respiratory health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. mmirabel@wakehealth.edu
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mirabelli
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: London
authors.forename: Luenda E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pompeii
authors.forename: Lynne E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Wagenknecht
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000453:epidemiology; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003371:Cough / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009790:Occupations; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D013147:Spirometry; D014481:United States