COPD mortality among workers in the construction industry, by occupation: USA, 2021-2022.

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive lung condition, is a leading cause of disability and death. Cigarette smoking and workplace exposures are important risk factors for COPD. To examine occupations with COPD deaths among decedents with usual lifetime employment in the construction industry.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Mortality by Industry and Occupation - United States, 2020-2022.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive lung disease characterized by scarring and worsening lung function, has a poor prognosis. A recent systematic review estimated that 21% of IPF deaths might be attributable to occupational exposures. To describe IPF mortality among U.

Prevalence and burden of asthma among US working adults by industry and occupation-United States, 2020-2021.

Objectives: Assess the prevalence of current asthma, asthma attacks/episodes, and asthma-related emergency room (ER) visits by industry and occupation and estimate the proportion of current asthma cases associated with employment during 2020-2021.

Methods: The 2020-2021 National Health Interview Survey data for persons aged ≥18 years who were employed at any time during the 12 months prior to the interview were analyzed.

Results: An estimated 12.

Work-related asthma prevalence among US employed adults.

Background: Work-related asthma (WRA), a preventable occupational disease, can result in adverse health outcomes and employment disability, including decreased productivity, lost workdays, and job loss. Early identification of WRA cases and avoidance of further exposures is crucial for optimal management.

Objective: We estimate WRA prevalence among US workers by selected sociodemographic characteristics, industry, and occupation groups and assess the differences in adverse health outcomes, preventive care, and lost workdays between persons with WRA and those with non-WRA.

Environmental management of asthma in clinical practice: Results from the 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Background: The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program guidelines emphasize environmental control as an integral part of asthma management; however, limited national-level data exist on how clinicians implement environmental control recommendations.

Objective: We analyzed data on clinicians' self-reported use of recommended environmental control practices in a nationally representative sample (n = 1645) of primary care physicians, asthma specialists, and advanced practice providers from the National Asthma Survey of Physicians, a supplemental questionnaire to the 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Methods: We examined clinician and practice characteristics as well as clinicians' decisions and strategies regarding environmental trigger assessment and environmental control across provider groups.

Pneumoconiosis incidence and prevalence among US Medicare beneficiaries, 1999-2019.

Background: Pneumoconiosis is a group of occupational lung diseases caused by dust and fiber exposure. This study analyzes Medicare claims to estimate the burden of pneumoconiosis among fee-for-service (FFS; Medicare Parts A and B) Medicare beneficiaries during 1999-2019 in the United States.

Methods: Claim and enrollment information from 81 million continuously enrolled FFS Medicare beneficiaries were analyzed.

Industry, occupation, and exposure history of mesothelioma patients in the U.S. National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank, 2006-2022.

Background: Malignant mesothelioma is associated with environmental and occupational exposure to certain mineral fibers, especially asbestos. This study aims to examine work histories of mesothelioma patients and their survival time.

Method: Using the NIOSH Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System, we mapped occupations and industries recorded for 748 of 1444 patients in the U.

Malignant mesothelioma among US Medicare beneficiaries: incidence, prevalence and therapy, 2016-2019.

Objectives: Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibres. Mesothelioma patients who receive trimodal therapy (chemotherapy, surgical resection and radiation) survive longer than those who receive two or fewer therapy modalities. This study analyses the 2016-2019 Medicare claims data to estimate the burden of malignant mesothelioma and describe therapy patterns (when available) among continuously enrolled fee-for-service (FFS; Medicare parts A and B) beneficiaries.

Cardiovascular Disease Among Adults With Work-Related Asthma, 2012-2017.

Introduction: Asthma is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, and adults with persistent, severe asthma have a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease than adults with intermittent or no asthma.

Methods: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the association between work-related asthma status and cardiovascular disease among ever-employed adults (aged 18-64 years) with current asthma using data from the 2012-2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Asthma Call-Back Survey from 37 states and the District of Columbia. Weighted prevalence ratios and 95% CIs, adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, household income, smoking status, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and BMI, were calculated.

Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma-COPD overlap among US working adults.

Background: Asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) is a respiratory condition with more severe respiratory symptoms, poorer quality of life, and increased hospital admissions compared with asthma or COPD alone.

Objectives: Estimate asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and ACO prevalence among workers by industry and occupation and assess physical and mental health status, healthcare utilization, among workers with ACO.

Methods: The 2014-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data for working adults aged ≥18 years employed (sample  = 99,424) in the 12 months prior to the survey were analyzed.

Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality in Women - United States, 1999-2020.

Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause malignant mesothelioma, a rapidly progressing and lethal cancer of the mesothelium, the thin layer of tissues surrounding internal organs in the chest and abdomen. Patients with malignant mesothelioma have a poor prognosis, with a median survival of 1 year from diagnosis. The estimated median interval from initial occupational asbestos exposure to death is 32 years (range = 13-70 years) (1).

Respiratory health of American Indian and Alaska Native coal miners participating in the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program, 2014-2019.

Background: In 2014, a federal rule reduced occupational exposure limits to coal mine dust and expanded medical surveillance eligibility beyond underground miners to surface and contract coal miners. This expansion may have provided an opportunity for more American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) coal miners to participate in screening, since many surface coal mines are located near AI/AN communities and may employ AI/AN miners. Therefore we sought to better understand the respiratory health of AI/AN coal miners by characterizing prevalence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), progressive massive fibrosis (PMF), and abnormal lung function in this population.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and U.S. Workers: Prevalence, Trends, and Attributable Cases Associated With Work.

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Workplace exposures are important modifiable contributors to the burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Medical claims paid by workers' compensation insurance among US Medicare beneficiaries, 1999-2016.

Background: Workers' compensation claims among Medicare beneficiaries have not been described previously. To examine the healthcare burden of work-related injury and illness among Medicare beneficiaries, we assessed the characteristics, healthcare utilization, and financial costs among Medicare beneficiaries with claims for which workers' compensation was the primary payer.

Methods: We extracted final action fee-for-service Medicare claims from 1999 to 2016 where workers' compensation had primary responsibility for claim payment and beneficiary, claim type, diagnoses, and cost information from these claims.

Trends in Pneumoconiosis Deaths - United States, 1999-2018.

Pneumoconioses are preventable occupational lung diseases caused by inhaling dust particles such as coal dust or different types of mineral dusts (1). To assess recent trends in deaths associated with pneumoconiosis, CDC analyzed multiple cause-of-death data* for decedents aged ≥15 years for the years 1999-2018, and industry and occupation data collected from 26 states for the years 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2007-2013. During 1999-2018, pneumoconiosis deaths decreased by 40.

Mortality Among Persons with Both Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Aged ≥25 Years, by Industry and Occupation - United States, 1999-2016.

Patients with asthma typically have chronic airway inflammation, variable airflow limitation, and intermittent respiratory symptoms; patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often have fixed airflow limitation and persistent respiratory symptoms. Some patients exhibit features suggesting that they have both conditions, which is termed asthma-COPD overlap. These patients have been reported to have worse health outcomes than do those with asthma or COPD alone (1).

Use of National Asthma Guidelines by Allergists and Pulmonologists: A National Survey.

Background: Little is known about specialist-specific variations in guideline agreement and adoption.

Objective: To assess similarities and differences between allergists and pulmonologists in adherence to cornerstone components of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's Third Expert Panel Report.

Methods: Self-reported guideline agreement, self-efficacy, and adherence were assessed in allergists (n = 134) and pulmonologists (n = 99) in the 2012 National Asthma Survey of Physicians.

Workshop summary: Potential usefulness and feasibility of a US National Mesothelioma Registry.

The burden and prognosis of malignant mesothelioma in the United States have remained largely unchanged for decades, with approximately 3200 new cases and 2400 deaths reported annually. To address care and research gaps contributing to poor outcomes, in March of 2019 the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation convened a workshop on the potential usefulness and feasibility of a national mesothelioma registry. The workshop included formal presentations by subject matter experts and a moderated group discussion.

Prevalence of COPD among workers with work-related asthma.

Concurrent asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnoses occur in 15%-20% of patients, and have been associated with worse health outcomes than asthma or COPD alone. Work-related asthma (WRA), asthma that is caused or made worse by exposures in the workplace, is characterized by poorly controlled asthma. The objective of this study was to assess the proportion of ever-employed adults (≥18 years) with current asthma who have been diagnosed with COPD, by WRA status.

Asthma self-management education in persons with work-related asthma - United States, 2012-2014.

According to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), self-management education is an integral component of effective asthma care and should be offered to every patient with asthma. To estimate the proportion of persons with work-related asthma (WRA) who received asthma self-management education. A cross-sectional analysis of 2012-2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Asthma Call-back Survey data was conducted among ever-employed adults (≥18 years) with current asthma from 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Prevalence Among Adults Who Have Never Smoked, by Industry and Occupation - United States, 2013-2017.

Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a debilitating respiratory condition with high mortality and morbidity (1,2). However, an estimated 24% of adults with COPD have never smoked (3,4). Among these persons, 26%-53% of COPD can be attributed to workplace exposures, including dust, fumes, gases, vapors, and secondhand smoke exposure (4-6).

Primary care clinician adherence with asthma guidelines: the National Asthma Survey of Physicians.

Although primary care clinicians provide >60% of U.S. asthma care, no nationally representative study has examined variation in adherence among primary care groups to four cornerstone domains of the Expert Panel Report-3 asthma guidelines: assessment/monitoring, patient education, environmental assessment, and medications.

Workplace Smoke-Free Policies and Cessation Programs Among U.S. Working Adults.

Introduction: Workplace tobacco control interventions reduce smoking and secondhand smoke exposure among U.S. workers.