Association between current domestic cleaning, current asthma and bronchitis, stratified by smoking status, age category, and employment in another cleaning job
| Never cleaners (n) | Current domestic cleaners (n) | Current asthma* | Chronic bronchitis† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) relative to those who had never worked in cleaning. | ||||
| *Woken by an attack of shortness of breath in the last 12 months, or attack of asthma in the last 12 months, or current use of drugs for asthma. | ||||
| †Regular cough at least three months each year, or regularly bringing up phlegm at least three months each year. | ||||
| ‡Different from risk in non-smokers; p<0.05 for multiplicative interaction. | ||||
| §Different from risk in age group 30 to 46 years; p<0.1 for multiplicative interaction. | ||||
| ¶Different from risk in exclusively domestic cleaners (p<0.05). | ||||
| Current non-smokers | 1843 | 484 | 1.50 (1.11 to 2.04) | 1.37 (1.02 to 1.85) |
| Current smokers | 419 | 109 | 1.27 (0.65 to 2.46) | 2.40 (1.52 to 3.80)‡ |
| Age 30 to 46 years | 733 | 199 | 1.96 (1.22 to 3.13) | 1.85 (1.25 to 2.74) |
| Age 47 to 55 years | 746 | 243 | 1.46 (0.94 to 2.27) | 1.57 (1.02 to 2.41) |
| Age 56 to 65 years | 783 | 151 | 1.00 (0.57 to 1.76)§ | 1.35 (0.83 to 2.20) |
| Exclusively domestic cleaning | 2262 | 508 | 1.26 (0.93 to 1.71) | 1.55 (1.19 to 2.02) |
| Domestic and non-domestic cleaning simultaneously | 2262 | 85 | 2.79 (1.64 to 4.75)¶ | 1.93 (1.13 to 3.29) |