title: Middle-aged men with asthma since youth: the impact of work on asthma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate current occupational exposure and its associations with asthma control, exacerbations, and severity in middle-aged men with asthma from youth.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used the Finnish Defence Force registers, 1986 to 1990, to select conscripts with asthma to represent mild or moderate asthmatic group (asthma group 1; N = 505), men who were exempted from military service to represent relatively severe asthmatic group (asthma group 2; N = 393), and a control group without asthma (N = 1500). A questionnaire was sent out in 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The current self-reported or expert-evaluated exposure to asthma-aggravating factors differed only slightly between the asthmatic groups and the controls. In asthma group 2, being a manual worker or self-employed (odds ratio, 4.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 16.3) significantly associated with asthma exacerbations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Current work may associate with the asthma outcome of middle-aged men with relatively severe asthma in their youth.
authors.affiliation: Control of Hypersensitivity Diseases, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland. irmeli.lindstrom@ttl.fi
authors.forename: Irmeli
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lindström
authors.forename: Hille
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suojalehto
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pallasaho
authors.forename: Ritva
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luukkonen
authors.forename: Jouko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karjalainen
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lauerma
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karjalainen
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires