The work impact of asthma and rhinitis: Findings from a population-based survey

Asthma and rhinitis are common chronic conditions that affect adults of wor king age. Little is known about their relative impacts on work loss and dec reased productivity. Using random digit telephone dialing, we carried out a population-survey of adults in Northern California aged 18-50 years. We in terviewed 125 persons with asthma (with or without concomitant rhinitis) an d 175 persons with rhinitis alone. Study eligibility was based on subject r eport of a physician's diagnosis of asthma and/or a rhinitis-related condit ion. Any adult labor force participation since condition onset was lower am ong those with asthma (88%) than among those with rhinitis alone (97%) (P = 0.002). In contrast, among those still employed, decreased job effectivene ss was more frequently reported in the rhinitis group (43 of 121; 36%) comp ared to those with asthma (14 of 72; 19%) (P = 0.02). Condition-attributed lost work was common in both groups, with more than 20% reporting one or mo re complete or partial work days lost in the 4 weeks previous to interview. Taking into account age, gender, race, and smoking status, those with asth ma were more likely to have no labor force participation after diagnosis (O R = 3.0; 95% CI 1.1-7.7) and less likely to report decreased job effectiven ess among those remaining employed (OR = 0.4; 95% CI 0.2-0.9). Excluding su bjects from the rhinitis group most likely to have unreported asthma based on past medication use had little impact on these associations. Both asthma and rhinitis negatively affect work productivity. Those with asthma are le ss likely to be employed at all, while among those remaining on the job, rh initis is a more potent cause of decreased work effectiveness. The economic impact of asthma and rhinitis and related conditions may be under-apprecia ted. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.