CDC Says Healthcare Workers Have Highest Asthma Prevalence

An analysis of recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) annual National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found asthma is most common among healthcare workers and those in related industries, reports MedPage Today . The current asthma prevalence among employees in healthcare and social assistance is 8.8 percent, versus 5.4 percent for workers in manufacturing, 5.2 percent in agriculture and related industries, and 6.1 percent in mining and oil and gas industries. Workers in the healthcare and social assistance industry and in healthcare support occupations were most likely to report current asthma, asthma episodes, and asthma-related visits to an emergency department. The researchers cited the fact that these factors were self-reported as a study limitation, as was the dearth of temporal information on asthma onset and exacerbations. "New-onset work-related asthma in these workers has been associated with exposure to cleaning and disinfecting products, powdered latex glove exposures, and exposures to aerosolized medications," note the CDC's Jacek Mazurek and Girija Syamlal. They also say the high prevalence of workers with a history of asthma "suggests a high risk for work-related exacerbation of asthma." In healthcare, the corresponding figure was 45.8 percent, nearly the overall national average among employed people.