Occupational exposures and exacerbations of asthma and COPD-A general population study.

PurposeRecent studies suggest that occupational inhalant exposures trigger exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but findings are conflicting.MethodsWe included 7,768 individuals with self-reported asthma (n = 3,215) and/or spirometric airflow limitation (forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/ forced expiratory volume (FVC) ResultsParticipants were followed for a median of 4.6 years (interquartile range, IQR 5.4), during which 870 exacerbations occurred. Exacerbations were not associated with any of the selected exposures (high molecular weight sensitizers, low molecular weight sensitizers, irritants or low and high levels of mineral dust, biological dust, gases & fumes or the composite variable vapours, gases, dusts or fumes). Hazards ratios ranged from 0.8 (95% confidence interval: 0.7;1.0) to 1.2 (95% confidence interval: 0.9;1.7).ConclusionExacerbations of obstructive airway disease were not associated with occupational inhalant exposures assigned by a job exposure matrix. Further studies with alternative exposure assessment are warranted.