Assessing young adult respiratory health: Proximity to a working chemical plant and increased prevalence of asthma in young adults

Background. To assess the respiratory health of young adults who have lived in proximity to irritant gases during childhood and to assess their prevalence of asthma as adults. Methods. The study consisted of an historic cohort of children who attended elementary schools, one of which was across the street from a working chemical plant. Comparison between the 'exposed and unexposed' cohorts was made utilizing unconditional logistic regression models. A surrogate for exposure to irritant gases was attendance at the exposed elementary school. The study instrument was a seven page self-administered questionnaire containing symptom-based inquiries about respiratory syndromes. Results. A total of 133 adults participated in the study. Response rate was 38% for the exposed group and 31% for the unexposed group with those lost to follow-up removed from the analysis. The odds ratio of asthma for those attending the exposed elementary school was a non-significant 1.23 (95% CI = 0.55, 2.72). Exploratory logistic regression models were completed by dichotomizing on allergy status. Neither allergy status strata yielded a statistically significant result for the attendance at the exposed elementary school. The allergy positive stratum yielded an OR for attendance at the exposed elementary school of 0.96 (95% CI = 0.38, 2.42) and the allergy negative stratum yielded an OR for attendance at the exposed elementary school of 2.20 (95% CI = 0.39, 12.31). Unadjusted and adjusted linear regression models for increasing number of asthma symptoms yielded a slight, but non-statistically significant positive measure of association. Conclusion. Based on the current information, the results suggest no increase in the presentation of asthma in those adults who as children were exposed to irritant gases.