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Domestic cleaners at increased risk of asthma
October 24, 2003Domestic cleaners are at increased risk of asthma, suggests research in Thorax.
In industrialised countries asthma is the most common lung disease acquired in the workplace, and is thought to account for up to 20% of all cases in adults.
Researchers randomly surveyed around 5000 women between the ages of 30 and 65 in an area of metropolitan Barcelona in Spain.
The women were asked about respiratory symptoms and whether they had been diagnosed or treated for asthma within the previous year. They were also asked if they had ever, or if they currently worked, as a domestic cleaner.
Over 4500 of the women responded to the survey, three quarters of whom had never smoked. Almost four out of 10 had worked as a domestic cleaner at some point, with about 600 working in this capacity at the time of the interview.
One in eight of the women had asthma; one in six had bronchitis. Working as a domestic cleaner at some time in a woman's life was associated with a significantly higher risk of all respiratory illness compared with women who had not been cleaners.
The rates of respiratory symptoms attributable to work among domestic cleaner were more than double those of other jobs: 12% among current and former cleaners; 5% among those who had never worked as cleaners.
Among those women not working as cleaners in people's homes, those working in hospitals and other health care centres had a significantly higher risk of asthma and bronchitis. Cleaners in hotels, laboratories and kitchens also had a higher risk, but not significantly so. Working as an office cleaner was not associated with an increased risk of respiratory disease.
The authors suggest that domestic cleaners are exposed to a wide range of products containing both irritants and 'sensitisers' as well as indoor allergens, such as dust and pet dander.
They conclude: "The high risk of asthma attributable to domestic cleaning suggests a substantial public health impact, which might be even greater if we take into consideration that housewives and others doing cleaning tasks at home are probably also at risk."
British Medical Journal (BMJ)
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