Frequency asthmaamong artisans and traders is poorly documented in France although there are some occupational nuisances known to cause asthma (flour in bakers, alkaline persulfates in hairdressers, etc.). In 2013, Public Health France therefore conducted a study on “the prevalence of asthma according to the sector of activity among traders and craftsmen”. A study that has just been published in the Weekly epidemiological bulletin.
“The study focused on all active artisans and traders aged 18 to 65 and affiliated to Social Security for the self-employed on January 1, 2013. The study included 967,391 artisans and traders (74% men and 26% women). The average age was 57 “ underlines Marie Houot, main author of the study. People with asthma were identified from a model that uses the number of boxes of different categories of drugs presented for reimbursement over the past three years, as well as the specialty of the prescribing physician (pulmonologist).
A risk for taxi drivers and driving school instructors
In men, the study showed a prevalence of asthma in the bakery and pastry-making sectors, in market retailing, in coffee shops, drinking establishments, taxi transport and hairdressing. Among women, the driving school and other personal services sectors are prevalent.
“We noted associations between asthma and known sectors such as the food industry and hairdressing. In contrast, higher prevalences asthmawere observed in areas previously ignored. This is particularly the case in the sectors of passenger transport by taxi, driving schools, ambulances, retail businesses in markets and fairgrounds and amusement parks ” underlines the author.
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