Hospitalization among workers compensated for occupational asthma

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Respiratory medicine
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Occupational asthma (OA) can lead to persistent symptoms.
• Serious outcomes like hospitalization have not been well-studied in OA populations.
• Previous research has not established hospitalization risks for OA patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare hospitalization rates among individuals with occupational asthma (OA), injured workers (INJ), and asthmatic patients (AP).
• To determine the risk of hospitalization for various conditions in OA claimants compared to other groups and the general population.

Main Methods:

• A cohort study identified OA claimants, INJ claimants, and AP from Ontario databases (1980-1993).
• Hospitalization data (through 1996) were matched using the Ontario Ministry of Health database.
• Standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) and proportional hazards regression were used for comparisons.

Main Results:

• OA claimants had higher all-cause and respiratory disease hospitalizations than the general population (SMR 9.2 for OA, 17 for AP).
• OA patients showed significantly higher hospitalization risks for all causes (RR 1.4), cardiovascular disease (RR 1.4), respiratory disease (RR 5.4), and asthma (RR 28.1) compared to INJ.
• OA patients were hospitalized less frequently for respiratory disease and asthma than AP but more frequently for ischemic heart disease.

Conclusions:

• Individuals with OA face elevated hospitalization rates for general conditions, respiratory issues, and asthma compared to injured workers.
• Hospitalization risk for OA patients decreases over time, particularly after five years post-onset.
• Older age and exposure to non-isocyanate agents were associated with OA hospitalization.