Description of occupational multiexposures to chemical and physical agents and chronic respiratory diseases in CARTaGENE

OBJECTIVES: To characterize occupational multiexposures to chemical and physical agents among participants of CARTaGENE - the largest ongoing cohort in Quebec, Canada - overall and and among those who reported a diagnosis of asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and lung and bronchial cancer. METHODS: Occupational exposures to 64 chemical and physical agents were determined via linkage with a job-exposure matrix (CANJEM); frequent itemset mining was used to extract frequent multiexposures. RESULTS: Among the 15,521 included participants, 5,990 were multiexposed (median = 5 agents) in their longest-held jobs. The most common patterns involved engine emissions, mechanical tasks, and cleaning-related duties. Multiexposure profiles varied by sex and industry, but not by disease status. CONCLUSIONS: Multiexposures to chemical and physical agents are common within CARTaGENE. Sex-specific differences in multiexposure profiles also exist.