Occup Environ Med

ObjectivesTo investigate the association between occupational exposure to disinfectants/antiseptics used for hand hygiene and asthma control in nurses.MethodsIn 2014, we invited female nurses with asthma drawn from the Nurses' Health Study II to complete two supplemental questionnaires on their occupation and asthma (cross-sectional study, response rate: 80%). Among 4,055 nurses (mean age: 59 years) with physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use in the past year, we examined asthma control, as defined by the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Nurses were asked about the daily frequency of hand hygiene tasks: \u201cwash/scrub hands with disinfectants/hand sanitizers\u201d (hand hygiene) and \u201cwash/scrub arms with disinfecting products\u201d (surrogate of surgical hand/arm antisepsis). Analyses were adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, smoking status, and body mass index.ResultsNurses with partly controlled asthma (ACT: 20-24, 50%) and poorly controlled asthma (ACT 6419, 18%) were compared to nurses with controlled asthma (ACT=25, 32%). In separate models, both hand and arm hygiene were associated with poorly controlled asthma. After mutual adjustment, only arm hygiene was associated with poorly controlled asthma: Odds Ratio [95%CI] for 10 times/day) and poor asthma control. Associations persisted after further adjustment for surfaces/instruments disinfection tasks.ConclusionsFrequency of hand/arm hygiene tasks in nurses was associated with poor asthma control. Results suggest an adverse effect of products used for surgical hand/arm antisepsis. This potential new occupational risk factor for asthma warrants further study.R01 OH010359/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United StatesUM1 CA176726/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States2019-05-01T00:00:00Z29475850PMC58990176242vault:2784