Researchers at Imperial College London analysed lifetime occupational histories for more than 9000 people born in Britain in 1958.
Adult onset asthma was associated with 18 occupations. Four were cleaning occupations and a further three occupations were likely to use cleaning agents. Others included farming, printing, metalwork, and textile production.
Risk factors included exposure to chemicals – such as cleaning and disinfecting products, metal fumes, and printing ink – as well as biological agents such as flour and enzymes.
This the conclusion of previous work that showed several job categories were associated with adult onset asthma.