The Association Between Workplace Exacerbation of Asthma and Quality of Life

Details

• Personal Author:
  Derk SJ ; Henneberger, Paul K.
• Description:
  Previous asthma quality of life research has indicated that adults with asthma are not only troubled by symptoms, but also by the physical and emotional impact on their lives. Preliminary data from the baseline phase of the Workplace Exacerbation of Asthma Study were analyzed in order to determine whether those that experience workplace exacerbation of asthma also report a worse quality of life than other adults with asthma. Adults who were enrolled in a health maintenance organization, aged 18-44 years and had prevalent asthma were asked to complete a telephone questionnaire. A work-related symptom score and exposure score were assigned to each participant in order to determine workplace exacerbation of asthma (WEA). A validated 20-item asthma quality of life questionnaire (AQLQ) was included. A total scale score and four subscale scores (breathlessness, mood, social, and health concerns) were created. At the time of the interview, 332 participants were employed during the previous 12 months. Of these, 24% (n =79) had experienced workplace exacerbation of asthma. Internal consistency was high for the total AQLQ scale (Cronbach's alpha=.95). Those with WEA had worse quality of life scores, but the difference was not statistically significant (Wilcoxon rank sum test, Z=1.74, p=.O8). The health concerns subscale was worse for those with WEA (Wilcoxon, Z=2.36, p=.02). These preliminary data suggest that a relationship might exist between WEA and a worse quality of life score. Future research will include analysis of the complete baseline phase data set. Also, the participants from the baseline phase will be re-interviewed in two years time to identify changes in their asthma as well as their quality of life. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace
• Keywords:
  Bronchial-asthma Emotional-stress Physical-stress Pulmonary-system-disorders Questionnaires Respiratory-system-disorders Workplace-studies
• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  167
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023090
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2003 Apr; 167(7):A719
• Email:
  zgo8@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2003 International Conference, The American Thoracic Society, Seattle, WA, May 16-21, 2003
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fadb468039c1cd9d5907690335474c7348f03ec896dfa40638079a7861d48c98b8d749b7e9f567c8fe7b5ba52796cb1ce1f7a40be4ce1970fb439707fc7c7757
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199672/cdc_199672_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 184.13 KB ]