254944 Days with asthma symptoms among adults with work-related and non-work-related asthma -- Asthma Call-back Survey, 2006–2009

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Gretchen E. Knoeller, MPH , Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC, Associate Service Fellow, Morgantown, WV
Jacek M. Mazurek, MD, MS, PhD , Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, WV
Jeanne E. Moorman, MS , National Center of Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Background: Little is known on asthma symptom frequency among individuals with work-related asthma (WRA). Objective: To compare mean number of days with asthma symptoms among individuals with WRA and non-WRA. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2006–2009 Asthma Call-back Survey for ever-employed adults with current asthma from 38 states and District of Columbia. Individuals with WRA had been told by a doctor or other health professional that their asthma was related to any job they ever had. We calculated adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) and compared mean number of days with asthma symptoms. Results: An estimated 9.0% of ever-employed adults with current asthma had WRA. Compared with persons with non-WRA, those with WRA were more likely to have had asthma symptoms less than one day prior to the interview (PR=1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.2–1.5]) and to have asthma symptoms “all the time” (PR=1.5, 95% CI=1.3–1.8). Individuals with WRA had, on average, more days with asthma symptoms in the past 30 days (11.2 versus 8.3, p<0.001), more days with difficultly sleeping due to asthma symptoms in the past 30 days (5.5 versus 2.2, p<0.001), more asthma attacks in the past 3 months (4.7 versus 2.3, p<0.001), and fewer symptom-free days in the past 2 weeks (7.3 versus 9.2, p<0.001) than adults with non-WRA. Conclusions: Asthma that is diagnosed as work-related is associated with increased frequency of days with asthma symptoms.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
Compare the frequency of asthma symptoms in adults with work-related asthma and non-work-related asthma.

Keywords: Asthma, Occupational Disease

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been principal of the Occupational Respiratory Disease Surveillance at NIOSH aimed to integrate mortality, morbidity, and hazard surveillance activities pertaining to occupational respiratory disease. Among my scientific interests has been the epidemiology and prevention of work-related asthma. I have conducted research related to work-related asthma for 5 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2083.0: Poster Session: Occupational Health Surveillance