The occurrence of respiratory infections in relation to the occupation in a working-age population

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Respiratory infections may spread differently in different working environments. <b>Objective:</b> We assessed occupation as a determinant of the occurrence of upper and lower respiratory tract infections in a working-age population. <b>Methods:</b> We analysed a population-based cross-sectional sample of 932 working-age adults living in the Pirkanmaa Hospital District in Southern Finland. We assessed potential relations between occupation and the occurrence of upper respiratory infections, including common cold, sinusitis, and otitis media and lower respiratory tract infections, including acute bronchitis and pneumonia during the past 12 months. We estimated incidence rate ratios (IRR) and risk ratios (RR) adjusting for age, sex, and smoking habits in Poisson regression models with log links. Professionals, clerks, and administrative personnel constituted the reference group. <b>Results:</b> The mean IR for common cold was 1.23 (95% CI 1.16-1.30) per 12 months and 7.27% (95% CI&nbsp; 5.57-8.97) had experienced at least one lower respiratory tract infection. We identified elevated occurrences of common cold among forestry and related workers (aIRR 3.53, 95% CI 1.30-9.54), drivers (1.43, 1.01-2.02), and farmers and agricultural workers (1.30, 0.97-1.75) and elevated risks of lower respiratory tract infections among forestry and related workers (aRR 9.45, 5.12-17.45) and printers (3.15, 0.97-10.23). <b>Conclusions:</b> Our results indicate differences in respiratory infections according to the occupation.