The research focused on people born in the late 1950s – the so-called baby boomer generation – and revealed that one in six cases of adult asthma could be directly related to their job.
The longitudinal research examined information gathered about 9,500 British adults born in 1958 at the ages of 7, 11, 16, 33 and 42. Of that total, some 2,000 people had developed asthma before the age of 16 and so were excluded. The rest were then tested for allergies and for lungpower when they were aged between 42 and 45.
Information was also collected about their work history when they were aged from 33 to 42. The researchers then used the Asthma Specific Job Exposure Matrix to calculate their exposure to compounds, respiratory irritants, antigens and environments in the workplace.
The highest risk agents associated with workplace asthma in adults were cleaning and disinfectant products, flour, enzymes, metal and metal fumes, and textiles.
The research concluded that developing asthma in adulthood was linked to 18 specific jobs, four of which were cleaning jobs, which with another three, involved exposure to cleaning agents. Those who worked in farming were four times more likely to develop asthma; hairdressers and barbers twice as likely; and printers three times more likely.