Cleaning and asthma characteristics in women

Background We aimed to assess the associations between occupational exposure to cleaning products, a gender‐related exposure, and asthma characteristics, considering clinical, immunological and inflammatory aspects . Methods Analyses were conducted in 391 women (73 with adult‐onset asthma) from the follow‐up of the Epidemiological Study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma (EGEA). Occupational exposure to cleaning/disinfecting products was estimated using the asthma‐specific job‐exposure‐matrix (44 women exposed) . Results Occupational exposures were associated with more symptomatic asthma (odds ratio (95% CI): 2.8(1.2–6.4)) and severe asthma (5.1(1.7–15.3)). An association was suggested for poorly controlled asthma (2.2(0.9–5.5)). Associations were observed for asthma without positive skin prick test (3.0(1.1–8.3)), with a low IgE level (2.8(1.2–6.2)), and with a low eosinophil count (3.2(1.5–7.1)) . Conclusions Results strengthen the evidence of a deleterious role of cleaning products in asthma and are consistent with the hypothesis of non‐allergic mechanisms in relation to workplace cleaning exposures . Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:303–311, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.