RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Late Breaking Abstract - Occupational exposure to disinfectants and COPD incidence in US nurses: a prospective cohort study
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP OA1774
DO 10.1183/1393003.congress-2017.OA1774
VO 50
IS suppl 61
A1 Orianne Dumas
A1 Raphaelle Varraso
A1 Krislyn M Boggs
A1 Catherine Quinot
A1 Jan-Paul Zock
A1 Paul K Henneberger
A1 Frank E Speizer
A1 Carlos A Camargo
A1 Nicole Le Moual
YR 2017
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/50/suppl_61/OA1774.abstract
AB Background: Exposure to disinfectants in healthcare workers has been associated with respiratory health effects, including asthma. Despite biological plausibility for an association between disinfectants (irritant chemicals) and COPD, available data are sparse.Aims: To investigate the association between exposure to disinfectants and incident COPD in a large cohort of US female nurses.Methods: The Nurses’ Health Study II is a prospective cohort of 116,430 female registered nurses enrolled in 1989. Analyses included 55,185 participants who were still in a nursing job and with no history of COPD in 2009 (baseline; mean age: 54 years). During ~8 years of follow-up (until May 2017), 663 nurses reported incident physician-diagnosed COPD. Occupational exposure was evaluated by questionnaire and a Job-Task-Exposure Matrix (JTEM). We examined the association between disinfectant exposure and subsequent COPD development, adjusted for age, smoking (pack-years), body mass index, race and ethnicity.Results: Using disinfectants to clean surfaces on a weekly basis (37% exposed) was associated with incident COPD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 95% CI: 1.22, 1.04-1.43). An association was suggested for weekly use of disinfectants to clean instruments (19% exposed; aOR: 1.18, 0.98-1.43). High level exposure to several specific disinfectants evaluated by the JTEM (glutaraldehyde, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol and quats) were significantly (p<0.05) associated with incident COPD (with ORs ranging from 1.24 to 1.32).Conclusions: Results support a prospective association between exposure to disinfectants and higher COPD incidence in nurses. This novel hypothesis merits further investigation.