Prevalence of work-related asthma in Michigan, Minnesota, and Oregon.

INTRODUCTION

Adults who have asthma that is caused or aggravated by triggers at work experience a reduced quality of life. In this study, the authors sought to estimate the proportion of asthma that is associated with work using a state-based survey of adults with asthma.

METHODS

In 2005, Michigan, Minnesota, and Oregon piloted the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Adult Asthma Call-Back Survey, with sample sizes of 867, 469, and 1072, respectively. Six questions addressing work-related asthma (WRA) were analyzed to generate estimates of the proportion of adult asthma that is work-related and compare those with and without WRA.

RESULTS

Over half of all adults with asthma (53%) reported that their asthma was caused or made worse by any job they ever had, and among these respondents reporting WRA, only 21.5% to 25.1% reported ever telling or being told by a health professional that their asthma was work-related. Additionally, adults with WRA consistently reported poorer asthma control and higher health care utilization than adults with non-WRA.

CONCLUSIONS

WRA is a common but frequently unrecognized health problem, and this lack of recognition might contribute to poorer asthma control among adults with WRA. Because early recognition, treatment, and management of WRA are crucial for improving long-term prognosis, clinicians need to include assessment of workplace triggers in both their diagnostic and treatment plans for adult patients with asthma.