Occupation and adult-onset asthma among Chinese women in a population-based cohort.

Background: Exposure to industrial irritants is believed to have contributed to the increasing prevalence of asthma worldwide. We examined the associations between occupation and asthma among women in a case-control study nested in the population-based Shanghai Women's Health Study cohort in China.

Methods: Cases were 1,050 women who reported a physician-diagnosed asthma as adults. Controls were 4,200 women matched to the cases by year of birth and age at diagnosis. Lifetime occupational histories were obtained. Logistic regression was applied to estimate odds ratios (ORs) adjusting for smoking, education, family income, and concurrent chronic bronchitis.

Results: Asthma is more prevalent in production industries for metal tools (OR = 2.4; 1.3-4.7), metal products for everyday use (OR = 1.6; 1.1-2.4), ships (OR = 2.6; 1.0-6.8), and clocks (OR = 1.9; 1.0-3.4), and in occupations as farm workers (OR = 4.0; 1.2-13.0), laboratory technicians and analyzers (OR = 2.2; 1.2-3.9), and installation and maintenance workers for weaving and knitting machineries (OR = 2.4; 1.1-5.4). Other associations less commonly reported were identified for electricians (OR = 2.1; 1.1-4.1), performers (OR = 3.2; 1.4-7.4), administrative workers in organizations and enterprises (OR = 1.8; 1.1-2.8), and postal and telecommunication workers (OR = 3.5; 1.6-7.6).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that occupational exposures contribute to the development of asthma in women.