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. 2016 Apr 9:16:48.
doi: 10.1186/s12890-016-0212-6.

The estimated prevalence of exposure to asthmagens in the Australian workforce, 2014

Lin Fritschi  1 , Julie Crewe  2 , Ellie Darcey  2 , Alison Reid  2 , Deborah C Glass  3 , Geza P Benke  3 , Tim Driscoll  4 , Susan Peters  5 , Si Si  2 , Michael J Abramson  3 , Renee N Carey  2
Affiliations

The estimated prevalence of exposure to asthmagens in the Australian workforce, 2014

Lin Fritschi et al. BMC Pulm Med. .

Abstract

Background: There is very little information available on a national level as to the number of people exposed to specific asthmagens in workplaces.

Methods: We conducted a national telephone survey in Australia to investigate the prevalence of current occupational exposure to 277 asthmagens, assembled into 27 groups. Demographic and current job information were obtained. A web-based tool, OccIDEAS, was used to collect job task information and assign exposure to each asthmagen group.

Results: In the Australian Workplace Exposure Study - Asthma (AWES- Asthma) we interviewed 4878 participants (2441 male and 2437 female). Exposure to at least one asthmagen was more common among men (47%) than women (40%). Extrapolated to the Australian population, approximately 2.8 million men and 1.7 million women were estimated to be exposed. Among men, the most common exposures were bioaerosols (29 %) and metals (27%), whilst the most common exposures among women were latex (25%) and industrial cleaning and sterilising agents (20%).

Conclusions: This study provides information about the prevalence of exposure to asthmagens in Australian workplaces which will be useful in setting priorities for control and prevention of occupational asthma.

Keywords: Occupational asthma; Surveillance; Workplace exposure.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of responses to telephone survey cohort
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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