Bakers, waitresses top asthma risk list

BAKERS, lumberjacks, dentists and waitresses are most likely to develop adult asthma, according to the first study to link professions to the respiratory disease.

A medical survey led by scientists from the University of Birmingham ranks jobs according to their “asthma risk”.

The team found there was a two-to five-fold increased chance of a chemical worker or waitress developing breathing difficulties compared with clerical and administrative staff.

Traditional male occupations such as baking and forestry work were the strongest determinants of asthma in men. For bakers, there was an 8.62 “odds ratio” for developing asthma, while for lumberjacks the figure was six.

However, both male and female office-based professionals and clerical and administrative staff had an odds ratio of just one for developing the condition.

For both men and women working in the chemical industry there were odds ratios of 5.56 and 5.69 respectively for developing asthma.

The study took place in Finland between 1997 and 2000 and involved 521 people aged 21 to 63 who had a history of asthma-like symptoms. A further 932 were recruited from the public to act as a control group for comparison.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that 5% of those who had some history of asthma had been forced to change jobs due to respiratory symptoms.