[Changes in the prevalence of asthma in the Spanish cohort of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS-II)].

Objective: The rise in the prevalence of asthma in the second half of the 20th century has not been evenly distributed according to recent surveys. We assessed changes in the prevalence of asthma after a period of 9 to 10 years in a cohort of young adults in the Spanish arm of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS).

Material And Methods: The ECRHS-II is a multicenter cohort study taking place in 27 centers around Europe, with Spanish centers located in Albacete, Barcelona, Galdakao, Huelva, and Oviedo.

Exposure to substances in the workplace and new-onset asthma: an international prospective population-based study (ECRHS-II).

Background: The role of exposure to substances in the workplace in new-onset asthma is not well characterised in population-based studies. We therefore aimed to estimate the relative and attributable risks of new-onset asthma in relation to occupations, work-related exposures, and inhalation accidents.

Methods: We studied prospectively 6837 participants from 13 countries who previously took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (1990-95) and did not report respiratory symptoms or a history of asthma at the time of the first study.

Lung function decline, chronic bronchitis, and occupational exposures in young adults.

Rationale: Occupational exposures to vapors, gas, dust, or fumes have been shown to be a risk factor of airway obstruction in cross-sectional studies in the general population.

Objectives: Our aim was to study the relationships between specific occupations and occupational exposures during a 9-yr follow-up period and changes in lung function and symptoms of chronic bronchitis.

Methods: Subjects from the general population aged 20 to 45 yr were randomly selected in 1991-1993 within the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Evaluation of specific occupational asthma risks in a community-based study with special reference to single and multiple exposures.

Objectives: To compare two job exposure matrices (JEMs) for the evaluation of asthma risks related to specific occupational exposures in a community-based study.

Methods: A questionnaire on self-reported asthma, respiratory symptoms and current occupation was sent to the participants of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey in five areas in Spain. Both an asthma-specific JEM, including expert judgment steps and a general JEM, were applied to occupational codes.