Incidence of Work-Related Asthma in Members of a Health Maintenance Organization

• Published in: Journal of occupational and environmental medicine Vol. 47; no. 12; pp. 1292 - 1297
• Main Authors: Vollmer, William M., Heumann, Michael A., Breen, Victor R., Henneberger, Paul K., O'Connor, Elizabeth A., Villnave, Jacqueline M., Frazier, E. Ann, Buist, A. Sonia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-12-2005; The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Asthma; Asthma - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma; Female; Health Maintenance Organizations; HMOs; Human exposure; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Medical Audit; Medical research; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Occupational hazards; Oregon; ORIGINAL ARTICLES; Pneumology; Oregon; Human; Lung disease; Respiratory disease; Health staff; Occupational hygiene; Epidemiology; Asthma; Incidence; Profession; Bronchus disease; Obstructive pulmonary disease; Professional activity; Occupational medicine
• ISSN: 1076-2752; 1536-5948
• DOI: 10.1097/01.jom.0000183339.66057.34

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate work-related asthma among health maintenance organization (HMO) members. Recent reports suggest that the incidence of work-related asthma may be much higher than Sentinel Event Notification Systems for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) data estimate. Methods: Using the HMO's electronic medical record, we identified 1747 persons with evidence of new or recurrent asthma. Interviews with 352 of them elicited information about workplace exposures, symptoms, and home environment. Industrial hygienists rated the potential asthmagenicity of the respondents' work environments. Results: Based on the industrial hygienist ratings and self-reported work-relatedness of asthma symptoms, we classifie 33% of those interviewed as having potentially work-related asthma, suggesting an overall work-related asthma incidence/recurrence rate o 28 cases per 10,000. Conclusions: The contribution of occupation to th occurrence of adult onset asthma may be much higher than typically suggested in the literature.