• Anna Hansell, Rebecca E Ghosh, Suzanne Poole, Jan-Paul Zock, Mark Weatherall, Roel Vermeulen, Hans Kromhout, Justin Travers, and Richard Beasley.
• From the MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health (Drs Hansell and Ghosh), Imperial College London, London, the United Kingdom; Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (Dr Hansell), London, the United Kingdom; Tauranga Hospital (Dr Poole), Tauranga, New Zealand; Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) (Dr Zock), Barcelona, Spain; Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) (Dr Zock), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP) (Dr Zock), Spain; University of Otago Wellington (Prof Weatherall), Wellington, New Zealand; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (Profs Vermeulen and Kromhout), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Medical Research Institute of New Zealand (Dr Travers), Wellington, New Zealand; and University of Otago, North Dunedin, New Zealand (Prof Beasley).
• J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2014 Mar 1;56(3):270-80.

ObjectivesTo investigate associations between respiratory disease and occupational exposures in a New Zealand urban population, the Wellington Respiratory Survey.MethodsMultiple regression analyses in a population sample of 1017 individuals aged 25 to 74 years with spirometry and questionnaire information, including a lifetime occupational history.ResultsChronic bronchitis symptoms were associated with self-reported exposure to hairdressing, paint manufacturing, insecticides, welding, detergents and with ALOHA Job Exposure Matrix-assessed gases/fumes exposure. The strongest association was for hairdressing (odds ratio 6.91; 95% confidence interval: 2.02 to 23.70). Cumulative exposure to mineral dust and gases/fumes was associated with higher FEV₁% (forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration) predicted. Analyses were limited by relatively small numbers of cases.ConclusionsIncreased risks of objectively defined respiratory disease, which have been previously documented, were not seen. Nevertheless, the study suggested increased risk of respiratory symptoms with various occupational exposures as well as likely healthy worker effect.

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