Cleaning and Disinfecting Tasks, Products and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures Associated with Asthma Outcomes in Healthcare Settings

Details

• Personal Author:
  Groth CP ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; LeBouf, Ryan F. ; Liang X ; Su F-C ; Virji, M. Abbas
• Description:
  Introduction: Cleaning products are complex mixtures of chemicals, and their use is associated with elevated prevalence of asthma symptoms among healthcare workers. In this study, we evaluate the effects of cleaning and disinfecting tasks, products used, and quantitative volatile organic compound (VOC) exposures on asthma outcome clusters of cough/phlegm, mild asthma, undiagnosed asthma and uncontrolled asthma. Materials and Methods: Healthcare workers from nine select occupations working in New York City hospitals and nursing homes completed a questionnaire with modules on cleaning and disinfecting tasks and product use. Frequency of cleaning tasks and products were calculated and quantitative exposure to total and 12 specific or composite VOCs were assigned to participants based on predictive statistical models. Exposure-response relationships for asthma outcome clusters were explored using polytomous logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, race, smoking and allergic status. Results: Various cleaning and disinfecting tasks were significantly associated with at least one of four asthma clusters including tasks involved in cleaning fixed surfaces, disinfecting medical instruments, administration of aerosolized medications and dental tasks. Products significantly associated with asthma clusters included use of orthophthaldehyde, alcohol, bleach, acids, ammonia, enzymatic cleaners, detergents, glass cleaners and phenolics on surfaces or instruments. Most VOC exposures were significantly associated with at least one of four asthma clusters. Specifically, chloroform, methylene chloride and VOC 11 (sum of 11 specific VOCs) were significantly associated with mild asthma, undiagnosed asthma and uncontrolled asthma. Notably, VOC exposures were highly correlated and specific VOCs with the greatest influence on the asthma clusters remain unclear. Conclusion: These results confirm previous findings of the association between cleaning and disinfecting products and asthma outcomes and highlight the need for prudent actions to mitigate exposures. However, these single predictor models do not represent workplace conditions; multipollutant models are needed to investigate mixed exposures and their interactions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Disinfectants Epidemiology Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety Volatile Organic Compounds
• Keywords:
  Chemicals Cleaning Compounds Health Care Workers VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds
• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  80
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070252
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2023 Mar; 80(Suppl 1):A81
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 29th International Symposium on Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH 2023), March 14-17, 2023, Mumbai, India
• Supplement:
  1
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6f6e345e6da1ca346d13bb5ff8cb39d66ea118bc3615f9018194be624d5be6c292be63b37504e043348a8c8e4efd12e7f4a179009870b35f168753392a1f2a2e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208501/cdc_208501_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 54.77 KB ]