Cleaners, hairdressers, farmers and printers all face a risk of developing asthma because of the chemicals they work with, researchers say today.
A study in the UK has now linked 18 occupations to adult asthma risk, seven of them involving cleaning or cleaning chemicals.
Researchers found that farmers were four times as likely as office workers to develop asthma.
The findings, reported in the journal Thorax, come from an analysis of nearly 7,500 Britons born in 1958.
Researchers sought to eliminate factors such as smoking and sensitivity to allergy-causing substances.
They concluded that cleaning products, metal fumes, textile production, flour and enzymes were all linked to high risk of developing asthma.
They say that about 16% of asthma acquired in adulthood is linked to the type of job held.
Researcher Dr Rebecca Ghosh, of Imperial College, London, said: "This study identified 18 occupations that are clearly linked with asthma risk, but there are others that did not show up in our analysis, mainly because they are relatively uncommon.
"Occupational asthma is widely under-recognised by employers, employees and healthcare professionals. Raising awareness that this is an almost entirely preventable disease would be a major step in reducing its incidence."
Malayka Rahman, of Asthma UK, said: "We advise anyone who works in the industries highlighted in this study and who have experienced breathing problems to discuss this with their GP, and we urge healthcare professionals to make sure they consider possible occupational causes in adult onset asthma and tailor their advice to people with asthma accordingly."
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