Objective: To determine if exposure to cold environments, during work or leisure time, was associated with increased reporting of airway symptoms in the general population of northern Sweden.
Methods: Through a population-based postal survey responded to by 12627 subjects, ages 18–70, living in northern Sweden, the occurrence of airway symptoms was investigated. Cold exposure during work or leisure time was self-reported on numerical rating scales. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the statistical association between cold exposure and airway symptoms.
Results: For currently working subjects (N=8740), reporting any occupational cold exposure was associated to wheeze (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1–1.4); chronic cough (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.1–1.4); and productive cough (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1–1.4), after adjusting for gender, age, body mass index, daily smoking, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Leisure-time cold exposure was not signifcantly associated to reporting airway symptoms.
Conclusions: Occupational cold exposure was an independent predictor of airway symptoms in northern Sweden. Therefore, a structured risk assessment regarding cold exposure could be considered for inclusion in the Swedish workplace legislation.