Table 1 Demographic, respiratory health, and occupational characteristics of the study population, São Paulo Metropolitan Area, 2003.
| Women (n = 245) | Men (n = 96) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reference* | Asthma†/rhinitis‡ | Reference* | Asthma†/rhinitis‡ | |||||||
| All cases | Work‐related§ | All cases | Work‐related§ | |||||||
| n = 143 | n = 102 | p Value | n = 28 | p Value | (n = 66) | (n = 30) | p Value | (n = 6) | p Value | |
| Age (years) | 37.0 (9.3) | 35.0 (8.8) | 37.4 (9.7) | 33.8 (11.1) | 30.7 (9.0) | 32.0 (8.0) | ||||
| Current smokers | 23 (16%) | 29 (28%) | 0.0201 | 7 (25%) | 20 (30%) | 7 (23%) | 2 (33%) | |||
| Ex‐smokers | 20 (14%) | 19 (19%) | 4 (14%) | 12 (18%) | 7 (23%) | 2 (33%) | ||||
| Non‐smokers | 100 (70%) | 54 (53%) | 17 (61%) | 34 (52%) | 16 (53%) | 2 (33%) | ||||
| Atopy¶ | 67 (47%) | 68 (67%) | 0.0021 | 19 (68%) | 0.0421 | 38 (58%) | 22 (73%) | 4 (67%) | ||
| Chronic bronchitis symptoms** | 1 (1%) | 4 (4%) | 0 (–) | 3 (5%) | 1 (3%) | 0 (–) | ||||
| FVC (% of predicted) | 82.6 (1.1) | 82.5 (1.2) | 82.8 (1.4) | 93.2 (5.3) | 95.3 (4.2) | 95.0 (7.8) | ||||
| FEV1 (% of predicted) | 84.3 (2.2) | 84.0 (2.4) | 84.5 (2.9) | 93.1 (4.7) | 94.8 (3.7) | 94.5 (6.7) | ||||
| FEV1/FVC (% of predicted) | 104.7 (6.7) | 101.9 (7.1) | 0.0017 | 102.2 (6.9) | 102.2 (8.6) | 100.3 (8.5) | 96.9 (12.2) | |||
| Cleaning‐related airway symptoms†† | 64 (45%) | 84 (82%) | <0.0001 | 28 (100%) | NA | 23 (35%) | 21 (70%) | 0.0014 | 6 (100%) | NA |
| Employment in a domestic cleaning job at any time in the past | 99 (69%) | 67 (66%) | 14 (50%) | 0.0493 | 4 (6%) | 3 (10%) | 2 (33%) | 0.0207 | ||
| Length of employment in non‐domestic cleaning (years) | 5.7 (5.6) | 5.2 (5.4) | 7.5 (5.5) | 3.4 (4.3) | 2.6 (3.0) | 5.5 (4.5) | ||||
| Length of employment in domestic cleaning (years) | 4.4 (4.9) | 4.4 (4.9) | 5.9 (6.6) | 4.5 (4.1) | 2.2 (1.5) | 2.6 (2.0) | ||||
| Inhalation accidents‡‡ | 15 (11%) | 16 (16%) | 4 (14%) | 3 (5%) | 2 (7%) | 1 (17%) | ||||
NA, not applicable; FVC, forced vital capacity; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second.
Number (%) or mean (SD); p value compared with reference.
*Subjects without symptoms.
†Score ⩾5.20
‡Self‐reported sneezing or runny or blocked nose, without cold or flu over the past 12 months.
§Work‐related asthma: asthmatic with new‐onset wheezing after starting as non‐domestic cleaning worker, and cleaning‐related lower airway symptoms. Work‐related rhinitis: rhinitic with new‐onset nasal symptoms after starting as non‐domestic cleaning worker, and cleaning‐related upper airway symptoms.
¶Positive skin prick test for at least one of nine common allergens.
**Morning productive cough for at least 3 months each year, for two consecutive years.
††If something at work caused at least one of the following symptoms: dry cough, productive cough, wheeze, chest tightness or shortness of breath (cleaning‐related lower airway symptoms); sneezing, runny nose, blocked nose or nasal burning (cleaning‐related upper airway symptoms).
‡‡Inhalation accidents: occurrence at any time in the past of inhalation of significant quantities of vapours, gases, fumes or dust, leading immediately (within 24 h) to respiratory symptoms.