Labour Research September 2007

Health & Safety Matters

Nurses and cleaners face asthma danger

Nurses are more than twice as likely as people in other jobs to develop asthma, and cleaners more than one-and-a-half times as likely, a new report has revealed.

Based on a study of nearly 7,000 people across Europe, the report found that up to a quarter of new asthma cases in adults could be attributed to the individual’s work.

Manolis Kogevinas and others, “Exposure to substances in the workplace and new-onset asthma: an international prospective population-based study”, The Lancet, volume 370, no. 9584, pages 336-341