Association of Hand and Arm Disinfection with Asthma Control in US Nurses

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boggs KM ; Carmargo CA Jr. ; Descatha A ; Dumas O ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Le Moual N ; Quinot C ; Speizer FE ; Varraso R ; Zock J-P
• Description:
  Objectives: To investigate the association between occupational exposure to disinfectants/antiseptics used for hand hygiene and asthma control in nurses. Methods In 2014, we invited female nurses with asthma drawn from the Nurses' Health Study II to complete two supplemental questionnaires on their occupation and asthma (cross-sectional study, response rate: 80%). Among 4055 nurses (mean age: 59 years) with physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use in the past year, we examined asthma control, as defined by the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Nurses were asked about the daily frequency of hand hygiene tasks: 'wash/scrub hands with disinfectants/ hand sanitizers' (hand hygiene) and 'wash/scrub arms with disinfecting products' (surrogate of surgical hand/ arm antisepsis). Analyses were adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, smoking status and body mass index. Results: Nurses with partly controlled asthma (ACT: 20.24, 50%) and poorly controlled asthma (ACT .19, 18%) were compared with nurses with controlled asthma (ACT=25, 32%). In separate models, both hand and arm hygiene were associated with poorly controlled asthma. After mutual adjustment, only arm hygiene was associated with poorly controlled asthma: OR (95% CI) for <1 time/day, 1.38 (1.06 to 1.80)>/=1 time/day, 1.96 (1.52 to 2.51), versus never. We observed a consistent dose-response relationship between frequency of arm hygiene tasks (never to >10 times/day) and poor asthma control. Associations persisted after further adjustment for surfaces/instruments disinfection tasks. Conclusions: Frequency of hand/arm hygiene tasks in nurses was associated with poor asthma control. The results suggest an adverse effect of products used for surgical hand/arm antisepsis. This potential new occupational risk factor for asthma warrants further study. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Asthma Chemistry Disinfectants Environmental Exposure Health Personnel Occupational Health Race Factors Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Smokers Surveys And Questionnaires Women

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• Keywords:
  Age Groups Antiseptics BMI Body Mass Index Bronchial Asthma Chemical Properties Dose Response Exposure Levels Hand Washing Health Care Humans Nurses Questionnaires Racial Factors Risk Factors Sanitation Smoking Statistical Analysis

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• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; 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
• Pages in Document:
  378-381
• Volume:
  75
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051074
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2018 May; 75(5):378-381
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr Orianne Dumas, INSERM, U1168, VIMA: Aging and chronic diseases, Epidemiological and public health approaches, Villejuif 94807, France
• Email:
  orianne.dumas@inserm.fr
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20130901
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20170831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a4c74476868db72a4a04623296fbd1ee8bbdc25cb130f116ed3b65f9cbaa4b2f5b3ae11209dff34964d03bd6f2a9a770383562385f6e967956e2c5ee257e1e71
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211200/cdc_211200_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 299.58 KB ]