Associations between respiratory health and reported traffic and occupational related exposure

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, asthma and chronic bronchitis increased with the level of self-reported exposure to traffic and occupational related pollution. Setting General population sample from four Swedish cities. 25 889 subjects in the age range between 16-75 years that participated in Swedish part of the GA2LEN study and answered questions related to traffic related and occupation exposure. Methods: The questionnaire focused on two exposure variables: A: How annoyed are you by fumes from traffic in your residential area: none/a little (none), somewhat and very much. B: Have you ever worked in a job that exposed you to vapours, gas, dust or fumes? Outcome variables were respiratory symptoms, asthma and chronic bronchitis. , with adjustment for BMI, sex, age smoking and education. Results: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms, asthma and chronic bronchitis increased with the level of exposure to traffic and occupational related pollution compared to those without (wheeze 27 vs 13%, nocturnal cough 35 vs 22%, asthma 11 vs.6% and chronic bronchitis 22 vs 8%, p<0.0001) The significant associations between respiratory symptoms and traffic and occupational exposure remained significant also after adjusting for sex, age, BMI, smoking and educational level. Conclusion: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms, asthma and bronchitis increase with level of exposure to traffic and occupational exposure. This association independent of adjustment for potential confounders.