Occupation and Task as Risk Factors for Asthma-Related Outcomes Among Healthcare Workers in New York City

Details

• Personal Author:
  Caridi MN ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Humann MJ ; LeBouf, Ryan F. ; Liang X ; Stanton, Marcia L. ; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B. ; Su F-C ; Virji, M. Abbas
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested an association of asthma onset and exacerbation with cleaning and disinfecting activities in a number of industries, including healthcare. The objective of the current study was to investigate the association of asthma and related outcomes with occupations and tasks in urban healthcare workers in the United States. METHODS: A questionnaire was implemented in a sample of workers from nine healthcare occupations in New York City. We used regression models to examine the association of post-hire asthma, current asthma, exacerbation of asthma, a symptom algorithm for bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR-related symptoms), a symptom-based asthma score, and the symptom wheeze with occupation and four healthcare tasks, while adjusting for other risk factors and potential confounders. RESULTS: A total of 2030 participants completed the questionnaire. The task of cleaning fixed surfaces was significantly associated with most outcome variables, including current asthma (odds ratio (OR) = 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26-2.68), moderate exacerbation (OR = 3.10, 95% CI 1.25-7.67), and BHR-related symptoms (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.08-1.77). In comparison to nursing assistants, the occupations environmental service workers and registered nurses were at higher risk for current asthma, and licensed practical nurses were at higher risk for moderate exacerbation. Other tasks associated with outcomes were administering aerosolized medications with current asthma and moderate exacerbation, and sterilizing medical equipment with BHR-related symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These findings add to the growing body of evidence for the association of asthma with cleaning and other activities in healthcare. Further research is especially needed to investigate the association of asthma-related outcomes with exposure metrics based on tasks, products, and chemical exposures in healthcare. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Disinfectants Epidemiology Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Asthma Cleaning Cleaning Compounds Disinfecting Healthcare Health Care Workers Occupation Occupations Work Tasks
• ISSN:
  1438-4639
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  211-220
• Volume:
  222
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053420
• Citation:
  Int J Hyg Environ Health 2019 Mar; 222(2):211-220
• Contact Point Address:
  P. K. Henneberger, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  pkh0@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• 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:d5ce1737af95b44ba1d330dce3270c6d211731bd5f5960d6d835b0e8c29253467c9789a78149a70bc05b4a7c63de6ad55e387288c9533b80ebf5ecb46fd8b79c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216176/cdc_216176_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 880.51 KB ]