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Occupational exposures and small airways obstruction in the UK Biobank Cohort

Johanna Feary, Valentina Quintero-Santofimio, James Potts, Roel Vermeulen, Hans Kromhout, Ben Knox-Brown, Andre FS Amaral
ERJ Open Research 2023; DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00650-2022
Johanna Feary
1National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
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  • For correspondence: j.feary@imperial.ac.uk
Valentina Quintero-Santofimio
1National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
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James Potts
1National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Roel Vermeulen
2Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Hans Kromhout
2Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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  • ORCID record for Hans Kromhout
Ben Knox-Brown
1National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Andre FS Amaral
1National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Abstract

Background Small airways obstruction (SAO) is a key feature of both Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and asthma, which have been associated with workplace exposures. Whether SAO, which may occur early in the development of obstructive lung disease and without symptoms, also associates with occupational exposures is unknown.

Methods Using UK Biobank data, we derived measurements of SAO from the 65,145 participants with high quality spirometry and lifetime occupational histories. The ALOHA+ Job Exposure Matrix was used to assign lifetime occupational exposures to each participant. The association between SAO and lifetime occupational exposures was evaluated using a logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders. A second logistic regression model was run to also account for potential co-exposures.

Results SAO was present in varying proportions of the population depending on definition used: 5.6% (FEF25–75<LLN)and 21.4% (FEV3/FEV6<LLN). After adjustment for confounders and co-exposures, people in the highest category of exposure to pesticides were significantly more likely to have SAO (FEV3/FEV6<LLN: OR 1.24, 95%CI 1.06–1.44). The association between pesticides and SAO showed an exposure-response pattern. SAO was also less likely among people in the highest exposure categories of aromatic solvents (FEV3/FEV6<LLN: OR 0.85, 95%CI 0.73–0.99) and metals (FEV3/FEV6<LLN: OR 0.77, 95%CI 0.62–0.94).

Conclusion Our findings suggest that occupational exposure to pesticides play a role in the SAO. However, further work is needed to determine causality, and identify the specific component(s) responsible and the underlying mechanisms involved.

Footnotes

This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.

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  • Copyright ©The authors 2023
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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Occupational exposures and small airways obstruction in the UK Biobank Cohort
Johanna Feary, Valentina Quintero-Santofimio, James Potts, Roel Vermeulen, Hans Kromhout, Ben Knox-Brown, Andre FS Amaral
ERJ Open Research Jan 2023, 00650-2022; DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00650-2022

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Occupational exposures and small airways obstruction in the UK Biobank Cohort
Johanna Feary, Valentina Quintero-Santofimio, James Potts, Roel Vermeulen, Hans Kromhout, Ben Knox-Brown, Andre FS Amaral
ERJ Open Research Jan 2023, 00650-2022; DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00650-2022
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