| EXPOSURE TO CLEANING PRODUCTS BOOSTS ASTHMA RISK Exposure to cleaning products may up asthma risks. It seems that people who work cleaning other people's homes are at increased risk of asthma, suggests research in the November, 2003 issue of the journal Thorax. Investigators pooled survey data on 4,521 women between the ages of 30 and 65 in Barcelona, Spain. The rates of respiratory symptoms attributable to work among domestic cleaners were more than double those of other jobs: 12% among current and former cleaners; 5% among those who had never worked as cleaners. "The high risk of asthma attributable to domestic cleaning suggests a substantial public health impact, which might be even greater if we take into consideration that housewives and others doing cleaning tasks at home are probably also at risk." Thorax - November 2003;58:950-4. |
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