Occupational asthma update.

A large number of agents in the workplace have been shown to give rise to occupational asthma. With the rapid introduction of new compounds into industries, it is likely that the prevalence of occupational asthma will continue to increase. This condition may well exceed pneumoconiosis as the most important cause of occupational lung disease. During the past two decades, there have been many studies which advanced our knowledge of occupational asthma: many causes have been identified, diagnostic techniques developed and the pathogenetic mechanisms investigated. The purpose of this review is to highlight some of the recent advances in this area.