Asthma diagnosed in late adulthood is linked to work disability and poor employment status.

BACKGROUND: Age at asthma onset is associated with severity and outcomes of the disease.

OBJECTIVE: We studied if age at asthma diagnosis is related to employment and outcomes in working career.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 2613 adults with asthma in Tampere, Finland, and a follow-up questionnaire was sent after six years. Asthmatics were divided into groups based on their employment status: working full-time or work disability. Logistic regression was used to study the association of age at asthma diagnosis with employment status at baseline and with the risk of exiting full-time work during follow-up period.

RESULTS: In cross-sectional analysis, asthma diagnosed in late adulthood (50 + years) was associated with higher OR for having work-disability compared to childhood onset asthma (OR [95% CI] 3.60 [1.43-9.06]). During follow-up, asthma diagnosed in late adulthood was associated with higher OR for exiting full time work compared to childhood-onset asthma (OR 10.87 [3.25-36.40]).

CONCLUSIONS: Asthma diagnosed in late adulthood is a higher risk for poor employment than asthma diagnosed earlier in life. Adult-onset of asthma is an important factor in view of work ability and early rehabilitation procedures.