title: Asthma and body mass index in occupational setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is the most common respiratory disease with an increasing prevalence. On the other hand, obesity is also a challenging disease compromising health in human communities. This study sought to assess the correlation of asthma and body mass index (BMI) in occupational setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted in a cable manufacturing company in 2012. A total of 551 workers from the production (exposed group) and non-production (unexposed group) units were studied. A questionnaire specifically designed for this purpose was filled out for study subjects and then all workers with respiratory symptoms suggestive of asthma thoroughly examined by a physician and medical history was taken from them. Complementary diagnostic tests were also carried out.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 11.6% of our understudy subjects had asthma. The prevalence of asthma in exposed subjects with BMI≥25 kg/m(2) was found to be significantly higher than in exposed workers with BMI<25 kg/m(2) (p<0.01). However, no significant differences existed in prevalence of asthma between the two subgroups of BMI≥25 kg/m(2) and BMI<25 kg/m(2) in the unexposed group (p>0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors significant associations were observed between BMI and asthma at cut points of 30 kg/m(2) and 25 kg/m(2) (OR: 8.53 and 2.41, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study results showed that prevalence of asthma might be higher in workers with higher BMI who are exposed to occupational asthmogens. This finding highlights the necessity of offering weight loss recommendations in periodic examinations to workers with exposure to occupational asthmogens.
authors.affiliation: 1. Assistant Professor of Occupational Medicine, Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mseyedmehdi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Seyedmehdi
authors.affiliation: 2. Professor of Pulmonology, Telemedicine Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mrmasjedi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Masjedi
authors.affiliation: 3. Assistant Professor of Occupational Medicine ,Occupational Medicine Department, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. drfdehghan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Faezeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dehghan
authors.affiliation: 4. MSc, Clinical Tuberculosis and Epidemiology Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. rahimroozbahani@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Rahim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roozbahani
authors.affiliation: 5. Occupational Medicine Specialist, Occupational Medicine Specialist, Petroleum Industry Health Organization (PIHO), Tehran, Iran. ranomrc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zargham
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.affiliation: 6. Occupational Medicine Resident, Occupational Medicine Department, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. bahadori_baharak@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Baharak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bahadori
authors.affiliation: 7. Associate Professor of Occupational Medicine, Occupational Medicine Department, Iran University of Medical Sciences & Brain and Spinal Injury Research Center (BASIR), Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. msattarchi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mirsaeed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Attarchi
keywords: Asthma; BMI; Occupational exposure