Occupational exposures and fluorescent oxidation products in 723 adults of the EGEA study.

Occupational asthma can be induced by a variety of agents, including high and low molecular weight sensitisers, and respiratory irritants [1]. The role of exposure to cleaning products and disinfectants in work-related asthma is increasingly recognised, although the specific substances that increase asthma risk are not well identified [2]. Some of the numerous agents contained in these products are chemical sensitisers, but most are hypothesised to act as respiratory irritants [2]. While high molecular weight sensitisers are known to cause occupational asthma through a typical allergic response, the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in occupational asthma induced by low molecular weight (LMW) chemicals, and in irritant-induced asthma, remain poorly understood [1, 3, 4].