| Subjects n | Physician-diagnosed asthma n (%) | OR | Adjusted OR¶ (95% CI) | |
| Unexposed+ | 17 503 | 255 (1.5) | 1 | 1 |
| Known asthmagens | ||||
| HMW agents | 3442 | 73 (2.1) | 1.47 | 1.40 (1.07–1.82) |
| Animals | 699 | 19 (2.7) | 1.89 | 1.62 (1.00–2.60) |
| Flour | 351 | 12 (3.4) | 2.39 | 2.36 (1.31–4.27) |
| Enzymes | 287 | 9 (3.1) | 2.19 | 2.14 (1.08–4.22) |
| Latex | 1791 | 30 (1.7) | 1.15 | 1.15 (0.78–1.69) |
| Bioaerosols | 1042 | 26 (2.5) | 1.73 | 1.51 (1.00–2.28) |
| Drugs§ | 741 | 9 (1.2) | 0.83 | 0.85 (0.43–1.66) |
| LMW agents | 2125 | 26 (1.2) | 0.84 | 0.84 (0.56–1.26) |
| Highly reactive chemicals | 1417 | 20 (1.4) | 0.97 | 0.97 (0.61–1.53) |
| Cleaning/disinfecting products | 559 | 9 (1.6) | 1.11 | 1.02 (0.52–2.01) |
| Metals | 801 | 6 (0.7) | 0.51 | 0.51 (0.22–1.16) |
| Mixed environments | 2767 | 64 (2.3) | 1.60 | 1.48 (1.12–1.96) |
| Textile production | 1388 | 30 (2.2) | 1.49 | 1.47 (1.00–2.17) |
| Agriculture | 1259 | 34 (2.7) | 1.88 | 1.63 (1.13–2.35) |
| High irritant peaks | 837 | 8 (1.0) | 0.65 | 0.72 (0.34–1.50) |
| Low levels of exposure to irritants or to chemicals/allergens only | ||||
| Low level of exposure to chemicals/allergens | 5454 | 132 (2.4) | 1.68 | 1.72 (1.39–2.14) |
| Combustion particles/fumes | 2371 | 62 (2.6) | 1.82 | 1.77 (1.26–2.48) |
| Environmental tobacco smoke | 514 | 5 (1.0) | 0.66 | 0.94 (0.38–2.31) |
| Irritant gases/fumes | 3096 | 81 (2.6) | 1.82 | 2.04 (1.55–2.68) |
| Low level of exposure to irritants onlyƒ | 3651 | 91 (2.5) | 1.73 | 1.82 (1.34–2.45) |
Total n=33 414. Bold font indicates statistical significance. HMW: high molecular weight; LMW: low molecular weight. #: exposure during the longest-held job or current job. ¶: evaluated by logistic regressions adjusted for age, sex and smoking habits. +: reference group who were not exposed to any of the 22 agents of the job–exposure matrix (JEM) during the longest held job and current job. §: pharmaceutical products may include both HMW and LMW antigens. ƒ: those exposed to irritants (combustion particles/fumes, irritant gases/fumes or environmental tobacco smoke), after excluding those who were further exposed to low levels of chemicals/allergens; analyses were performed for specific agents for which at least five subjects with asthma were exposed, i.e. 15 out of the 22 agents of the asthma JEM.