Association Between Occupational Exposure to Disinfectants and Asthma in Young Adults Working in Cleaning or Health Services – Results From A Cross-Sectional Analysis in Germany

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association of occupational disinfectants use with asthma and wheezing in young professionals. METHODS: Three hundred sixty-five participants from the German Study on Occupational Allergy Risks II aged 20 to 24 years and working in cleaning or health services answered a questionnaire on respiratory health, occupational exposure to disinfectants, and potential confounders. By logistic regression, we calculated the association between duration of occupational disinfectants exposure and doctor-diagnosed asthma, current asthma, and current wheezing. RESULTS: Individuals exposed to disinfectants for more than 12 months had almost three times the odds of doctor-diagnosed asthma compared with those not exposed (odds ratio [OR]: 2.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.36-6.55). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide some further evidence for an association between occupational exposure to disinfectants and asthma, indicating that this association can be seen already after the first year of exposure.