Current Asthma and Asthma-Like Symptoms Among Workers at a Veterans Administration Medical Center

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fink, Jordan N. ; Framberg S ; Kallio C ; Kurth L ; Laney AS ; Storey, Eileen ; Virji, M. Abbas
• Description:
  INTRODUCTION: Healthcare workers are at increased risk for respiratory disorders. The purpose of our respiratory health survey was to estimate the prevalence of current asthma and asthma-like symptoms and their association with workplace exposures and tasks among healthcare workers at a Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Information on respiratory health and work characteristics, including tasks performed, products used, and exposures, were collected by questionnaire from a convenience sample of workers employed at the VA Medical Center during 2012-2014. Associations of asthma and asthma-like symptoms with cleaning and disinfecting tasks and products as well as exposure to dampness and molds, and construction dust were evaluated using log-binomial regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of current asthma was 17.6% and almost half of all workers reported asthma-like symptoms. We observed elevated prevalence of current asthma among the VA healthcare workers compared to the U.S. general and working adult populations. Asthma and asthma-like symptoms were significantly associated with mold, dampness, and construction material exposures; cleaning and disinfecting products; and cleaning or disinfecting tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace exposures and tasks associated with current asthma and asthma-like symptoms were identified but further research is needed to investigate the temporal association between workplace exposures and current asthma and asthma-like symptoms. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Asthma Disinfectants Dust Environmental Exposure Fungi Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Humidity Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Age Groups Asthma-like Symptoms Author Keywords: Asthma Bronchial Asthma Cleaning Compounds Dust Exposure Dusts Exposure Levels Health Care Workers Healthcare Workers Hospital Medical Facilities Molds Pulmonary Effects Pulmonary System Pulmonary System Disorders Questionnaires Respiratory Respiratory System Disorders Risk Factors Surveillance Task Performance Work Environment Worker Health Workers

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• ISSN:
  1438-4639
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  220
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050471
• Citation:
  Int J Hyg Environ Health 2017 Nov; 220(8):1325-1332
• Contact Point Address:
  Laura Kurth, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Mail Stop HG900, Morgantown, WV 26505-2888
• Email:
  lkurth@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1f5e4eb21e9531df19714518541fe015eebd2d81a5596de61a22f5b9c8e22ec41d0fff0dd99729678885c51545ff7868f59e7794375f3d0631c89231872799ee
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210796/cdc_210796_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 389.11 KB ]