Women cleaning at home or working as occupational cleaners had accelerated decline in lung function, a recent study found. The ECRHS study, which has investigated a multicenter population based cohort at 3 time points over 20 years, included 6,230 participants with at least 1 lung function measurement from 22 study centers. Researchers found:

• Compared to women not engaged in cleaning, forced expiratory volume (FEV1) declined more rapidly in women responsible for cleaning at home (-22.1, p=0.01) and occupational cleaners (-22.4, p=0.03).
• The same was found for decline in forced vital capacity (FVC).
• Both cleaning sprays and other cleaning agents were associated with accelerated FEV1 decline (-22.0, p=0.04 and -22.9, p=0.0004, respectively).
• Cleaning was not significantly associated with lung function decline in men or with chronic airway obstruction.