Research Article

Occupation and adult-onset asthma among chinese women in a population-based cohort

  1. Srmena Krstev MD, PhD1,2,
  2. Bu-Tian Ji MD, DrPH1,*,
  3. Xiao-Ou Shu MD, PhD3,
  4. Aaron Blair PhD1,
  5. Wei Zheng MD, PhD3,
  6. Jay Lubin PhD4,
  7. Roel Vermeulen PhD1,5,
  8. Michael Hauptmann PhD4,6,
  9. Nathaniel Rothman MD, PhD1,
  10. Yu-Tang Gao MD7,
  11. Dosemeci Mustafa PhD1,
  12. Wong-Ho Chow PhD1

Article first published online: 20 FEB 2007

DOI: 10.1002/ajim.20439

Issue

American Journal of Industrial Medicine

American Journal of Industrial Medicine

Volume 50, Issue 4, pages 265–273, April 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Krstev, S., Ji, B.-T., Shu, X.-O., Blair, A., Zheng, W., Lubin, J., Vermeulen, R., Hauptmann, M., Rothman, N., Gao, Y.-T., Mustafa, D. and Chow, W.-H. (2007), Occupation and adult-onset asthma among chinese women in a population-based cohort. Am. J. Ind. Med., 50: 265–273. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20439

Author Information

  1. 1

    Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, Maryland

  2. 2

    Clinical Centre of Serbia, Institute of Occupational Health, Belgrade, Serbia

  3. 3

    Center for Health Service Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

  4. 4

    Biostatistic Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, Maryland

  5. 5

    Institute of Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

  6. 6

    Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

  7. 7

    Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai, China

*Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, 6120 Executive Blvd, EPS 8120, Bethesda, MD 20892.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 22 MAR 2007
  2. Article first published online: 20 FEB 2007
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 6 JAN 2007

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Keywords:

  • occupational asthma;
  • women;
  • population-based case control study;
  • occupation;
  • industry

Abstract

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. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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