Occupational cold exposure in relation to incident airway symptoms in northern Sweden: a prospective population-based study.

Occupational cold exposure was robustly associated with incident wheeze and productive cough in previously healthy workers. This adds further support to the notion that cold air is harmful for the airways, and that a structured risk assessment regarding occupational cold exposure could be considered for inclusion in the Swedish workplace legislation. Further studies are needed to elaborate on exposure-response functions, as well as suggest thresholds for hazardous cold exposure.