Asthma and Wheeze Prevalence among Nursing Professionals in Western Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Although adult asthma is attributable to occupational factors, few reports are available on asthma prevalence among health care workers in Japan. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of asthma and wheeze among Japanese nursing professionals. A cross-sectional study was conducted by postal survey using a translated version of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey questionnaire from April to June 2013. The analysis included 4634 nursing professionals (257 men and 4377 women) and the overall response rate was 84.8%. The prevalence of current asthma and wheeze were 10.7% (95% confidence interval (CI), 9.9%-11.7%) and 15.6% (95% CI, 14.5%-16.6%), respectively. More than one year of work experience as a nursing professional and more than one year of experience with bed-making tasks were associated with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.95 (95% CI, 1.12-3.39) and 1.64 (95% CI, 1.15-2.23) for wheeze, respectively. Current smoking was significantly associated with the presence of wheeze, with ORs of 2.27 for men (95% CI, 1.11-4.64) and 2.01 for women (95% CI, 1.54-2.64). Among female nurses, latex allergy was associated with wheeze (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.56-2.23), as was body mass index ≥30 (OR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.65-4.62). This study has provided the prevalence of asthma and wheeze among Japanese nursing professionals. Employment period, bed-making tasks, latex allergy, obesity, and smoking may be risk factors for prevalent wheeze among nursing professionals.

[BASELINE SCREENING USING INTERFERON-GAMMA RELEASE ASSAY SUGGESTS AN INCREASED RISK OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION AMONG EMPLOYEES IN A JAPANESE GENERAL HOSPITAL].

OBJECTIVES: This retrospective study aimed to assess the risk of tuberculosis infection for the employees of a Japanese hospital using baseline interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). The risk was defined as exposure to the hospital environment. METHODS: In total, 870 hospital employees including 161 new employees, 582 for baseline assay, and 127 for contact examination (709 subjects in the post-employment group) were examined from December 2010 to April 2012. The new employees were considered as the "non-exposure" group, whereas the post-employment group was considered as the "exposure" group. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for IGRA positivity, adjusted for gender, smoking history, and alcohol intake (model 1), and for years of employment (model 2). RESULTS: The exposure group was significantly associated with an increased risk of positive IGRA results, even when adjusted for years of employment (OR: 4.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.4-17.6; P = 0.007). Subgroup analyses stratified by profession indicated a significantly increased OR for laboratory technicians, doctors, and nurses in both models. No correlation was observed between the length of employment and IGRA positivity. CONCLUSION: Exposure to the hospital environment increased the risk of tuberculosis infection for employees irrespective of the length of employment. Laboratory technicians, doctors, and nurses were at the highest risk of infection.