Prevalence of Work-Related Asthma in Michigan, Minnesota, and Oregon

• Published in: The Journal of asthma Vol. 47; no. 2; pp. 156 - 161
• Main Authors: Lutzker, Liza A., Rafferty, Ann P., Brunner, Wendy M., Walters, Jaime K., Wasilevich, Elizabeth A., Green, Mandy K., Rosenman, Kenneth D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa UK Ltd 01-03-2010; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Ambulatory Care - statistics & numerical data; asthma; Asthma - complications; Asthma - diagnosis; Asthma - drug therapy; Asthma - epidemiology; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; Drug Prescriptions - statistics & numerical data; Emergency Treatment - statistics & numerical data; epidemiology; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; health surveys; Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Michigan - epidemiology; Minnesota - epidemiology; occupational diseases; Occupational Diseases - complications; Occupational Diseases - diagnosis; Occupational Diseases - drug therapy; Occupational Diseases - epidemiology; occupational exposure; Oregon - epidemiology; Physician-Patient Relations; Prevalence; Sample Size; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - epidemiology; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - etiology; Surveys and Questionnaires; work-related asthma; Oregon; Minnesota; Michigan
• ISSN: 0277-0903; 1532-4303
• DOI: 10.3109/02770900903509073

Introduction. Adults who have asthma that is caused or aggravated by triggers at work experience a reduced quality of life. In this study, the authors sought to estimate the proportion of asthma that is associated with work using a state-based survey of adults with asthma. Methods. In 2005, Michigan, Minnesota, and Oregon piloted the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Adult Asthma Call-Back Survey, with sample sizes of 867, 469, and 1072, respectively. Six questions addressing work-related asthma (WRA) were analyzed to generate estimates of the proportion of adult asthma that is work-related and compare those with and without WRA. Results. Over half of all adults with asthma (53%) reported that their asthma was caused or made worse by any job they ever had, and among these respondents reporting WRA, only 21.5% to 25.1% reported ever telling or being told by a health professional that their asthma was work-related. Additionally, adults with WRA consistently reported poorer asthma control and higher health care utilization than adults with non-WRA. Conclusions. WRA is a common but frequently unrecognized health problem, and this lack of recognition might contribute to poorer asthma control among adults with WRA. Because early recognition, treatment, and management of WRA are crucial for improving long-term prognosis, clinicians need to include assessment of workplace triggers in both their diagnostic and treatment plans for adult patients with asthma.