Swimming Pools and Asthma

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Michigan State University. College of Human Medicine
• Description:
  Does swimming in chlorinated water cause or aggravate asthma? Studies in children and elite Olympic swimmers have suggested a causal relationship between repeated swimming in chlorinated pools and the development of asthma. The "pool chlorine hypothesis" states that the increased incidence of asthma in developed countries is at least partially caused by children spending more time in chlorinated swimming pools. However, because many of the studies that find a risk of asthma in association with swimming are cross-sectional, an alternative explanation is that people with asthma are more likely to swim because this form of exercise has, at least in the past, been recommended for individuals with asthma. For example, in support of the absence of a causal relationship between asthma and swimming in a chlorinated pool, a longitudinal study from birth of 14,541 children from the United Kingdom found that children who swam were less likely to have asthma at ages 7 and 10. However, an accompanying editorial questioned the findings of this study by suggesting that the exposure assessment used for time spent swimming was inadequate and that these data did not negate findings that older adolescents and elite swimmers have a high prevalence of bronchial reactivity. The risk of asthma from swimming is still under active investigation. This newsletter will examine the data concerning pool workers and asthma. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma, Occupational Chlorine Epidemiology Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Exposure Assessment Occupational Asthma Occupational Exposure Surveillance
• Publisher:
  Michigan State University-College of Human Medicine
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• Volume:
  23
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054560
• Citation:
  Project S.E.N.S.O.R. News 2012 Jul; 23(4):1-4
• Contact Point Address:
  MSU-CHM, 117 West Fee Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1316
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chlorine (CAS RN 7782-50-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Project S.E.N.S.O.R. News
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fd7989b54025ec6741db19491cc3d503ca94befdcfe0b0c341b197e9084c05531ce430f1279e16e52e30ae1382982c5dcba3c411720963babd8ebe51dd60c273
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217085/cdc_217085_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 45.91 KB ]