Occupational respiratory symptoms in New Zealand hairdressers

Background A study of occupational respiratory symptoms in hairdressers was carried out in 26 salons in New Zealand. Methods A questionnaire was administered to 100 hairdressers and 106 office and shop workers, recording respiratory symptoms, demographic data, and sm oking habits. Pulmonary function was measured before each shift. Results Hairdressers had a higher prevalence of asthma symptoms, diagnosed asthma, and asthma attacks in the previous 12 months, but these differences reduced markedly when adjusted for age, gender and smoking. Hairdressers h ad a significantly lower pulmonary function, even after adjustment for smok ing, but this difference was entirely due to differences between hairdresse rs and office workers and there were no such differences between hairdresse rs and shop workers. Conclusions The excess symptom prevalence in hairdressers was largely due t o the high smoking rates. Mean pulmonary function was lower in hairdressers but this finding requires further study.