Respiratory Health Effects of Exposure to Cleaning Products

Abstract

Cleaning-related respiratory health effects are an important occupational and public health issue • A wide variety of respiratory symptoms and conditions have been reported• Many cleaning agents have hazardous properties which may lead to health effects via several underlying mechanisms• Preventive measures to avoid the cleaning-related respiratory health burden are warranted SYNOPSISThere is consistent and growing evidence of an epidemic of 'asthma-like' symptoms among professional cleaners. Important questions remain unanswered: how big is this problem worldwide, which cleaning agents are dangerous, and how do they affect the lungs, is it really 'asthma'? This is an important public health issue because of the large and increasing number of professional cleaners (c.4 million in Europe only), many from 'vulnerable' categories, such as women, immigrants, and of low socio-economic status. In addition, there are potential implications for anybody exposed to cleaning products during routine domestic housekeeping, including children. In this chapter we will try to address these issues using the available evidence on this topic, from epidemiology to toxicology, to give a broad but concise overview on what we know so far and how we could prevent the cleaning-associated respiratory health public burden.

An Overview of Cleaning Agents’ Health Hazards and Occupational Injuries and Diseases Attributed to Them in Sweden

“…Epidemiological research on health effects from cleaning and disinfection agents generally focus on cleaning and nursing occupations ( Quirce and Barranco, 2010 ; Van den Borre and Deboosere, 2018 ; Carder et al , 2019 ; De Matteis et al , 2020 ; Dumas and Le Moual, 2020 ; Archangelidi et al , 2021 ; Romero Starke et al , 2021 ). To some extent the SWEA data confirm expected patterns regarding in which sectors and occupations diseases and injuries occur, however, the full range of sectors and occupations covered by the ISA data show the wide-spread use of this product group.…”

“…Observational studies point towards links between use of cleaning agents and lung disease ( Quirce and Barranco, 2010 ; Van den Borre and Deboosere, 2018 ; Carder et al , 2019 ; De Matteis et al , 2020 ; Dumas and Le Moual, 2020 ; Archangelidi et al , 2021 ; Romero Starke et al , 2021 ). A Belgian registry study found increased mortality in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among cleaners ( Van den Borre and Deboosere, 2018 ).…”

“…A Belgian registry study found increased mortality in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among cleaners ( Van den Borre and Deboosere, 2018 ). However, links have in particular been made to asthma ( Quirce and Barranco, 2010 ; De Matteis et al , 2020 ; Archangelidi et al , 2021 ) but also to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( Van den Borre and Deboosere, 2018 ; Archangelidi et al , 2021 ). Additionally, a recent study found a correlation between the use of cleaning agents at home and airway obstruction in women ( Svanes et al , 2018 ).…”

Association between occupational exposure to irritant agents and a distinct asthma endotype in adults

“…If replicated, our findings may help improving the recognition and management of irritant-induced work-related asthma. Other studies, in an epidemiological or clinical setting, and possibly including additional relevant pathways for irritant-induced asthma, such as neurogenic inflammation involving transient receptor potential (TRP) channels [39] would be useful to further characterize asthma endotypes related to irritant exposures.…”

Job and exposure intensity among hospital cleaning staff adversely affects respiratory health

“…There is consistent and growing evidence of an epidemic of asthma‐like symptoms among professional cleaners 1 . Cleaning tasks are associated with exposure to several chemical agents with potential harmful effects to the respiratory system 2 .…”