NIOSH

Lifetime asthma: Estimated prevalence among current cigarette smokers by occupation and sex, U.S. working adults aged ≥18 years, NHIS 2004–2011

OccupationTotalMaleFemale
Estimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence IntervalEstimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence IntervalEstimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence Interval
Management
Chief executives; general and operations managers; legislators 234,254 7.9 4.0–11.8 184,418 6.7* 2.6–10.8 49,837 12.5* 2.7–22.4
Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers 125,908 9.3* 3.1–15.5 66,320 8.9* 1.6–16.1 59,588 † †
Operations specialties managers 324,229 9.3 5.6–13.0 193,642 7.2 3.0–11.3 130,586 12.5 5.9–19.2
Other management occupations 1,381,057 10.6 8.1–13.0 875,911 9.3 5.9–12.7 505,146 12.8 9.1–16.5
Business and Financial Operations
Business operations specialists 442,870 11.6 8.2–15.1 205,100 9.0 4.7–13.3 237,771 13.9 8.8–19.0
Financial specialists 412,283 11.4 7.6–15.2 168,651 9.9 4.3–15.5 243,632 12.5 7.5–17.4
Computer and Mathematical
Computer specialists 446,850 9.9 6.9–12.9 352,061 9.5 6.0–12.9 94,790 11.6 5.6–17.6
Mathematical science occupations 23,083 22.8* 5.3–40.3 9,961 36.3* 7.4–65.2 13,122 † †
Architecture and Engineering
Architects, surveyors, and cartographers 24,596 † † 20,137 † † † – –
Engineers 191,114 13.5 6.4–20.6 171,865 12.0* 4.6–19.5 19,249 26.5* 3.3–49.8
Drafters, engineering, and mapping technicians 166,116 13.0* 2.0–24.0 150,816 12.6* 0.7–24.5 15,300 † †
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Life scientists 23,154 † † 16,517 † † 6,637 – –
Physical scientists 27,477 – – 14,353 – – 13,124 – –
Social scientists and related workers 37,208 18.6* 3.9–33.2 11,824 31.6* 1.4–61.8 25,384 † †
Life, physical, and social science technicians 47,760 † † 31,372 † † 16,389 † †
Community and Social Services
Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists 256,047 13.0 8.8–17.1 81,635 8.1* 2.1–14.1 174,412 15.2 9.7–20.8
Religious workers 11,114 † † 5,955 † † 5,159 † †
Legal
Lawyers, judges, and related workers 62,420 7.1* 1.6–12.5 37,178 10.6* 1.9–19.3 25,242 † †
Legal support workers 101,944 20.3 9.0–31.6 18,615 † † 83,329 23.3 10.0–36.5
Education, Training, and Library
Postsecondary teachers 109,777 11.7 4.9–18.4 62,811 13.4* 3.0–23.9 46,966 9.4* 1.6–17.3
Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers 391,574 14.7 10.9–18.5 92,650 12.8 5.3–20.3 298,924 15.3 11.0–19.6
Other teachers and instructors 95,857 10.6* 2.3–19.0 40,236 † † 55,621 13.6* 0.4–26.8
Librarians, curators, and archivists 29,081 † † 10,110 † † 18,972 † †
Other education, training, and library occupations 127,347 10.3* 4.1–16.5 14,774 35.9* 4.0–67.9 112,573 7.0* 2.3–11.6
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Art and design workers 164,512 6.1* 1.9–10.3 92,216 † † 72,296 10.0* 1.7–18.3
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers 88,440 25.1 13.8–36.4 56,342 24.2 10.4–37.9 32,098 26.8* 7.2–46.4
Media and communication workers 101,841 9.3* 3.7–15.0 54,594 8.5* 1.6–15.3 47,247 10.3* 1.6–19.1
Media and communication equipment workers 44,434 16.7* 3.3–30.1 35,605 20.8* 4.6–37.1 8,830 – –
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners 485,417 11.6 7.8–15.4 72,561 11.6* 2.8–20.3 412,855 11.6 7.3–15.9
Health technologists and technicians 390,562 12.5 8.7–16.3 78,301 9.6 4.0–15.2 312,261 13.2 8.5–17.9
Other healthcare practitioners and technical 8,024 – – 7,137 – – † – –
Healthcare Support
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides 562,624 18.1 13.7–22.6 55,933 24.9 10.7–39.0 506,691 17.4 12.9–21.9
Occupational and physical therapist assistants and aides 12,144 – – 3,495 – – † – –
Other healthcare support occupations 215,845 10.2 5.9–14.4 21,722 † † 194,124 10.7 6.3–15.2
Protective Service
First-line supervisors/managers, protective service workers 44,964 18.4* 5.0–31.8 34,986 † † † – –
Fire fighting and prevention workers 14,303 † † 11,016 † † † – –
Law enforcement workers 173,077 8.9 4.0–13.8 124,516 6.5* 0.9–12.0 48,561 15.2* 5.1–25.2
Other protective service workers 236,876 10.9 6.5–15.4 163,321 7.6 3.6–11.6 73,554 18.4 7.8–28.9
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Supervisors, food preparation, and serving workers 288,540 9.7 5.5–13.9 160,735 7.3* 2.8–11.8 127,805 12.7* 5.2–20.2
Cooks and food preparation workers 778,113 13.4 10.3–16.5 475,265 14.8 10.6–19.0 302,848 11.2 7.3–15.2
Food and beverage serving working 1,042,941 13.7 10.8–16.5 314,592 11.9 5.8–17.9 728,349 14.4 11.3–17.5
Other food preparation and serving related workers 161,682 10.1 4.5–15.8 103,898 10.3* 3.3–17.4 57,784 9.8* 0.4–19.3
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Supervisors, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers 125,622 12.2* 4.7–19.8 84,855 9.4* 1.1–17.6 40,767 18.2* 2.4–34.1
Building cleaning and pest control workers 866,981 9.6 7.5–11.7 438,571 7.8 5.2–10.5 428,411 11.4 8.1–14.6
Grounds maintenance workers 342,129 7.3 4.2–10.4 314,376 6.9 3.5–10.2 27,753 † †
Personal Care and Service
Supervisors, personal care and service workers 36,229 † † 14,442 † † 21,787 † †
Animal care and service workers 62,537 6.6* 0.5–12.6 16,328 † † 46,209 † †
Entertainment attendants and related workers 62,761 † † 44,184 † † 18,577 † †
Funeral service workers † – – † – – † – –
Personal appearance workers 218,412 15.3 8.9–21.8 36,986 † † 181,426 17.4 9.9–24.9
Transportation, tourism, and lodging attendants 37,480 13.8* 2.3–25.2 18,951 † † 18,529 † †
Other personal care and service workers 488,373 21.5 16.2–26.8 73,301 22.4* 8.8–36.0 415,072 21.3 15.6–27.0
Sales and Related
Supervisors, sales workers 903,980 8.5 6.3–10.8 534,336 7.5 4.6–10.4 369,644 10.0 6.5–13.5
Retail sales workers 1,441,407 15.0 12.4–17.5 605,165 12.3 8.1–16.5 836,242 16.9 13.7–20.1
Sales representatives, services 321,673 10.9 6.4–15.3 193,397 9.6* 3.5–15.7 128,276 12.8 6.5–19.0
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing 213,597 11.0 5.9–16.0 150,928 11.6 5.0–18.1 62,669 9.4* 1.7–17.1
Other sales and related workers 283,550 12.1 7.6–16.5 136,838 6.7* 2.5–11.0 146,713 17.0 9.8–24.3
Office and Administrative Support
Supervisors, office and administrative support workers 241,819 11.5 6.4–16.6 90,863 † † 150,956 13.2 6.7–19.6
Communications equipment operators 23,132 24.9* 0.6–49.2 † – – 21,289 27.1* 0.8–53.4
Financial clerks 515,831 10.9 7.7–14.1 61,506 † † 454,324 11.6 8.2–15.1
Information and record clerks 929,216 14.2 10.4–18.0 258,182 8.5 4.1–12.9 671,035 16.4 11.7–21.1
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers 888,814 12.2 9.4–15.1 532,962 10.9 7.2–14.7 355,852 14.2 9.7–18.7
Secretaries and administrative assistants 511,539 9.5 6.5–12.5 23,751 20.5* 0.6–40.4 487,788 9.0 6.2–11.8
Other office and administrative support workers 519,520 12.4 8.9–15.9 118,953 18.2 8.0–28.4 400,567 10.7 7.5–14.0
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Supervisors, farming, fishing, and forestry workers 9,138 † † 8,503 † † † – –
Agricultural workers 154,742 8.4* 3.1–13.7 128,305 8.9* 2.4–15.3 26,437 † †
Fishing and hunting workers 14,674 † † 14,257 † † † – –
Forest, conservation, and logging workers 30,038 † † 30,038 † † – – –
Construction and Extraction
Supervisors, construction and extraction workers 255,732 10.2 5.0–15.3 246,329 10.5 5.2–15.9 9,402 – –
Construction trades workers 2,321,055 7.5 6.2–8.9 2,263,087 7.6 6.2–9.0 57,969 † †
Helpers, construction trades 38,199 † † 36,817 † † † – –
Other construction and related workers 94,351 11.3 2.8–19.8 89,904 11.9* 3.0–20.8 † – –
Extraction workers 64,490 † † 64,490 † † – – –
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Supervisors of installation, maintenance, and repair workers 79,803 15.7* 6.2–25.3 71,916 14.2* 4.3–24.1 7,888 † †
Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers 186,357 13.1 5.6–20.6 166,912 10.9* 2.8–19.0 19,445 32.0* 11.2–52.7
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers 560,300 8.6 5.4–11.8 550,214 8.6 5.4–11.8 10,086 † †
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 669,731 5.1 3.3–7.0 643,958 4.8 3.0–6.7 25,773 † †
Production
Supervisors, production workers 220,882 11.6 6.5–16.6 180,310 9.3* 3.8–14.7 40,572 21.8* 8.9–34.7
Assemblers and fabricators 365,095 6.8 3.9–9.8 218,058 5.4* 1.9–8.8 147,037 9.0 3.8–14.2
Food processing workers 170,527 16.1 7.6–24.6 100,547 † † 69,981 25.0 12.0–38.1
Metal workers and plastic workers 612,615 5.0 2.8–7.1 551,754 5.1 2.8–7.4 60,860 † †
Printing workers 98,611 4.0* 0.2–7.8 82,079 4.8* 0.2–9.4 16,531 – –
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers 146,118 11.4 5.8–17.0 60,895 8.3* 0.9–15.8 85,223 13.7* 5.5–21.8
Woodworkers 69,885 † † 59,715 † † 10,169 † †
Plant and system operators 55,013 13.7* 2.7–24.8 54,636 13.8* 2.8–24.9 † – –
Other production occupations 813,920 10.8 8.1–13.5 551,205 9.2 6.2–12.2 262,715 14.2 8.7–19.7
Transportation and Material Moving
Supervisors, transportation and material moving workers 49,085 11.8* 0.7–22.9 39,329 † † 9,756 † †
Air transportation workers 16,116 – – 12,483 – – 3,633 – –
Motor vehicle operators 1,219,790 10.3 8.1–12.5 1,053,713 10.5 8.1–12.9 166,078 9.1 4.1–14.0
Rail transportation workers 26,543 29.5* 2.5–56.4 25,487 30.7* 2.8–58.5 † – –
Water transportation workers 12,821 † † 11,390 – – † – –
Other transportation workers 86,040 14.7* 4.2–25.1 71,097 13.5* 2.2–24.9 14,943 † †
Material moving workers 1,007,754 9.3 6.7–12.0 824,421 8.6 5.8–11.4 183,333 12.4* 4.8–19.9
Millitary 19,129 – – 15,217 – – † – –
Refused, Not Ascertained, Don’t Know 518,504 6.0 3.4–8.7 350,928 6.7 3.1–10.3 167,576 4.7* 1.6–7.8
TOTAL 28,931,909 11.0 10.5–11.5 17,034,086 9.0 8.7–9.4 11,897,823 13.5 12.7–14.3

nc - not calculated

* Estimates with a relative standard error of >30% and ≤50% are statistically unstable due to small sample size and should be used with caution as they do not meet the standards of reliability.

† Estimates with a relative standard error of >50% are suppressed.

– No estimates due to no cases or no respondents.

Note:

Numbers presented are average annual estimates for the period 2004–2011. Prevalence estimates are weighted and are not age-adjusted. Estimated totals may not add up due to rounding/suppression.

Life time asthma is defined as those who have ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that they had asthma. Current smokers are those who reported smoking ≥100 cigarettes during their lifetime and employed in the week prior to the survey. Working adults are those who were employed in the week prior to the survey. Estimated populations represent current U.S. workers aged ≥18 years.

See Appendix for more details.

Source:

National Center for Health Statistics National Health Interview Surveys 2004 to 2011.

Citation:

NIOSH 2015. Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance System (eWoRLD). 2015-887 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Respiratory Health Division, Morgantown, WV. Available at: <https://wwwn.cdc.gov/eWorld/Data/887> April 25, 2024.

Reference Number: 2015-887

Date Posted: October 2015

Data Formats

Page last reviewed: October 23, 2015
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)