Table 4.
Adjusted* OR (ORadj) for respiratory symptoms past 12 months, current use of asthma medication and ever physician-diagnosed asthma by exposure generated from ISCO-88 work codes and the use of N-JEM†
| Lower respiratory tract |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exposure category | Total number | Wheezing last 12 months ORadj |
Woken with dyspnoea ORadj |
Asthma attack ORadj |
Use of asthma medication ORadj |
At least one symptom last 12 months ORadj |
Physician-
diagnosed asthma ORadj |
| Main categories | |||||||
| HMW agents | 1022 | 1.1 (0.93 to 1.3) | 1.0 (0.75 to 1.4) | 1.2 (0.80 to 1.7) | 0.98 (0.73 to 1.3) | 1.1 (0.91 to 1.3) | 0.90 (0.71 to 1.1) |
| LMW agents | 584 | 1.2 (0.97 to 1.5) | 1.2 (0.86 to 1.7) | 1.1 (0.69 to 1.9) | 0.94 (0.63 to 1.4) | 1.2 (0.94 to 1.5) | 0.99 (0.73 to 1.3) |
| Irritating agents | 2543 | 1.0 (0.91 to 1.2) | 1.2 (1.0 to 1.5) | 1.2 (0.92 to 1.6) | 1.2 (0.95 to 1.5) | 1.1 (0.97 to 1.3) | 1.0 (0.86 to 1.2) |
| Peak exposure to irritants | 239 | 1.0 (0.70 to 1.5) | 1.2 (0.77 to 2.0) | 0.82 (0.37 to 1.8) | 0.82 (0.46 to 1.5) | 0.90 (0.64 to 1.3) | 0.71 (0.43 to 1.2) |
| Uncertain or low exposure | 759 | 1.1 (0.85 to 1.3) | 0.86 (0.59 to 1.2) | 0.93 (0.56 to 1.6) | 0.86 (0.59 to 1.3) | 1.0 (0.81 to 1.2) | 0.96 (0.72 to 1.3) |
| Reference group/unexposed‡ | 5597 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Detailed categories | |||||||
| Animal-derived agents | 165 | 0.97 (0.58 to 1.6) | 0.94 (0.41 to 2.2) | 1.1 (0.43 to 2.9) | 0.61 (0.21 to 1.8) | 0.91 (0.55 to 1.5) | 1.1 (0.61 to 2.0) |
| Flour | 33 | 3.2 (1.4 to 7.3) | 3.5 (1.3 to 9.5) | 2.6 (0.47 to 15) | 3.3 (1.1 to 10) | 3.4 (1.6 to 7.6) | 1.6 (0.53 to 4.7) |
| Mixed agricultural work (not animal) | 113 | 1.1 (0.68 to 1.8) | 1.2 (0.52 to 2.7) | 1.6 (0.45 to 5.4) | 1.1 (0.45 to 2.6) | 1.1 (0.65 to 1.7) | 1.1 (0.53 to 2.1) |
| Moulds and other bioaerosols | 141 | 1.1 (0.65 to 2.0) | 1.2 (0.53 to 2.8) | 0.46 (0.12 to 1.8) | 1.0 (0.32 to 3.3) | 1.2 (0.68 to 2.0) | 0.49 (0.24 to 1.0) |
| Latex proteins | 639 | 1.2 (0.89 to 1.7) | 1.3 (0.79 to 2.1) | 1.9 (0.97 to 3.6) | 1.6 (0.89 to 2.7) | 1.3 (0.97 to 1.8) | 1.1 (0.72 to 1.7) |
| Pharmaceutical product agents | 474 | 0.87 (0.60 to 1.3) | 0.60 (0.33 to 1.1) | 0.54 (0.25 to 1.2) | 0.44 (0.22 to 0.89) | 0.74 (0.51 to 1.1) | 0.83 (0.50 to 1.4) |
| Acrylates | 219 | 1.1 (0.72 to 1.7) | 1.8 (1.0 to 3.4) | 1.2 (0.47 to 3.1) | 1.1 (0.56 to 2.2) | 0.92 (0.63 to 1.4) | 1.0 (0.61 to 1.8) |
| Epoxy chemicals | 187 | 0.63 (0.31 to 1.3) | 0.11 (0.034 to 0.35) | 0.15 (0.024 to 0.93) | 0.55 (0.13 to 2.4) | 0.54 (0.27 to 1.1) | 0.89 (0.30 to 2.7) |
| Diisocyanates | 268 | 1.5 (0.90 to 2.6) | 2.9 (1.5 to 5.7) | 3.5 (0.91 to 13) | 1.5 (0.50 to 4.5) | 1.7 (1.0 to 2.9) | 1.4 (0.59 to 3.4) |
| Other reactive agents | 195 | 1.2 (0.83 to 1.8) | 0.93 (0.48 to 1.8) | 1.2 (0.57 to 2.6) | 0.73 (0.36 to 1.5) | 1.1 (0.77 to 1.6) | 0.69 (0.39 to 1.2) |
| Cleaning agents | 223 | 0.91 (0.60 to 1.4) | 1.1 (0.61 to 2.0) | 1.2 (0.56 to 2.6) | 1.3 (0.73 to 2.3) | 1.0 (0.71 to 1.5) | 0.96 (0.58 to 1.6) |
| Wood and paper dust | 288 | 1.0 (0.73 to 1.5) | 0.95 (0.56 to 1.6) | 1.8 (0.84 to 4.0) | 1.2 (0.68 to 2.3) | 1.1 (0.77 to 1.5) | 1.3 (0.81 to 2.0) |
| Inorganic dust and fumes | 789 | 1.0 (0.78 to 1.3) | 1.3 (0.90 to 2.0) | 1.0 (0.54 to 1.9) | 0.84 (0.53 to 1.3) | 1.0 (0.82 to 1.3) | 0.77 (0.54 to 1.1) |
| Welding and soldering fumes and other metal dust | 134 | 1.6 (0.88 to 3.0) | 3.2 (1.6 to 6.4) | 0.90 (0.24 to 3.4) | 1.2 (0.51 to 3.0) | 1.8 (1.0 to 3.2) | 1.6 (0.73 to 3.4) |
| Metal working fluids | 191 | 0.83 (0.52 to 1.3) | 0.36 (0.16 to 0.84) | 1.4 (0.56 to 3.4) | 0.81 (0.38 to 1.7) | 0.72 (0.46 to 1.1) | 0.72 (0.38 to 1.4) |
| Vehicle/motor exhaust | 1124 | 1.1 (0.95 to 1.4) | 1.4 (1.0 to 1.8) | 1.3 (0.88 to 1.9) | 1.4 (1.0 to 1.8) | 1.2 (1.0 to 1.4) | 1.2 (0.93 to 1.5) |
| Environmental tobacco smoke | 210 | 0.92 (0.63 to 1.4) | 1.5 (0.92 to 2.6) | 1.4 (0.68 to 2.8) | 0.72 (0.37 to 1.4) | 1.1 (0.75 to 1.5) | 1.7 (1.1 to 2.6) |
| Peak exposure to irritants | 239 | 0.76 (0.44 to 1.3) | 0.47 (0.23 to 0.95) | 0.57 (0.19 to 1.7) | 0.69 (0.31 to 1.5) | 0.61 (0.37 to 1.0) | 0.45 (0.24 to 0.84) |
| Uncertain or low exposure | 759 | 1.1 (0.85 to 1.3) | 0.85 (0.59 to 1.2) | 0.96 (0.58 to 1.6) | 0.85 (0.58 to 1.2) | 0.99 (0.81 to 1.2) | 0.97 (0.73 to 1.3) |
| Reference group/unexposed† | 5597 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Results reaching significance, p<0.05, are marked in bold.
*Adjusted for age, gender, area of residence, smoking, passive smoking, housing conditions, damp and mould at home and nasal allergy.
†Exposure was assessed by using N-JEM on the self-reported occupations categorised by the researchers using ISCO-88.
‡The reference group are those with current occupations classified as unexposed only by N-JEM.
HMW, high molecular weight; ISCO-88, International Standard Classification of Occupations; LMW, low molecular weight; N-JEM, job-exposure matrix (JEM) developed for the northern European countries.