Increased incidence of asthma in low income workers in the USA

his is an attempt to link population surveillance data to occupational exposures in a country with no universal healthcare. The study is a longitudinal study by telephone interview of a representative sample of low income workers in the USA (not earning more than twice the poverty level). It identifies a population attributable risk for work-related asthma of 26% in women and 10% in men, perhaps influenced by the income limitations in the sample. There is some unusual features of the population studied, isocyanate exposure seems to have been excluded (the commonest recognised cause of occupational asthma in most indusrialised countries), and asbestos and insulation workers included (whose increased risk generally exclude asthma in most populations), despite this the population attributable risks are in line with other studies, and show increased risks in the defined higher risk occupations. The strength of this study is its longitudinal nature from 1968-2015. This should provide an opportunity to look at changing risks over time related to different exposures, and particular to look at risk related to length of exposure, as most studies concentrate on those in the first few years of exposure.

References

	Laditka JN, Laditka SB, Arif AA, Hoyle JN., Work-related asthma in the USA: nationally representative estimates with extended follow-up, Occup Environ Med, 2020;-:-,http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2019-106121

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