Jobs that take your breath away

An interesting report from an industrialised area of SW Norway identifying workers who had changed their job becaause their job affected their breathing. This identified some well-known groups with a high risk of occupatonal asthma such as hairdressers and welders, confirmed the increased risks in cleaners, but identified less common groups such as gardeners, agricultural workers, sheet-metal workers and cooks. Individual exposures with increased risks included cleaning/disinfection agents (OR=1.7); low temperatures (OR=1.9); metal dust (OR=3.7); welding fumes (OR=3.6); and paint (OR=3.2).

References

	Fell A, Abrahamsen R, Henneberger PK, Svendsen MV, Andersson E, Torén K, Kongerud J. , Breath-taking jobs: a case-control study of respiratory work disability by occupation in Norway, Occup Environ Med, 2016;73:600-606,10.1136/oemed-2015-103488

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