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There are no large population-based studies on occupational asthma, and few estimates of the proportion of asthma attributed to occupation, even though asthma is the most common occupational respiratory disorder in industrialised countries.

We assessed data on 15637 people aged 20–44, randomly selected from the general population of 26 areas in 12 industrialised countries. Asthma was assessed by methacholine challenge test and by questionnaire data on respiratory symptoms and use of medication. Occupation was defined by job-titles and a job exposure matrix was constructed.

Highest risk of asthma, defined as bronchial hyperresponsiveness and reported asthma symptoms or medication, was shown for farmers (odds ratio 2·62 [95% CI 1·29–5·35]), painters (2·34 [1·04–5·28]), plastic workers (2·20 [0·59–8·29]), cleaners (1·97 [1·33–2·92]), spray painters (1·96 [0·72–5·34 …