BACKGROUND Severity of occupational asthma at diagnosis is an important prognostic factor. The aim of this study was to determine which factors affect the severity of occupational asthma with a latency period at diagnosis. METHODS The study population consisted of 229 consecutive subjects with occupational asthma with a latency period recruited by four occupational health departments and divi...

The aim was to review the development of in vivo models of asthma due to low molecular weight chemicals, in particular, those aspects that may be important to the understanding of occupational asthma in humans. (Occup Environ Med 1995;52:539-543)

Baker's asthma, like other forms of occupational asthma is probably the most serious manifestation of occupational allergy among bakery workers. It is caused by immunologic sensitization and subsequent allergic reactions in the airways to occupational specific airborne allergens. Skin Prick Tests (SPTs) play an important role in the diagnosis of baker's asthma and epidemiological field studies ...

In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal, DUMAS et al. [1] describe associations between occupational disinfectant exposure and asthma control in US nurses. Asthma control was defined by using the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and based on responses to five questions on activity limitations, frequency of symptoms and frequency of use of quick-relief medication in the past 4 weeks (β-agonis...

Three employees from two different detergent companies were investigated for occupational asthma, using skin prick tests, serum specific IgE, and specific bronchial challenge. Two were challenged with lipase and one with cellulase. All three cases had immunological evidence of sensitisation to the detergent enzymes with which they worked. Bronchial challenge in each provoked a reproducible dual...

The medicolegal aspects (primary prevention, secondary prevention or surveillance) and the system of compensation (tertiary prevention) for occupational asthma are reviewed in this article. Due to the significant medical, medicolegal, social and financial consequences, it is of the utmost importance that the diagnosis of occupational asthma be proved by objective means, whenever feasible. Compe...

The second Jack Pepys Workshop on Occupational Asthma was held in Toronto, Canada, in May 2004. The present report summarises key questions and research needs as identified by the international participants. The audiotapes from the workshop discussions were summarised by the organising chairs of the Symposium and the resulting document was circulated for input from all invited workshop particip...

orchard workers in north china are highly exposed to orchard pollens, especially peach and other rosaceae family pollens during pollination season. the aim of this study was to investigate whether occupational allergy to peach tree pollen as a member of rosaceae family is ige-mediated and to evaluate the cross-reactivity among rosaceae family pollens. allergen skin test and conjunctival challen...

The aim was to estimate the incidence rate of adult-onset asthma in relation to age, sex, smoking and occupational exposures. A random sample of 18,087 subjects aged 16-75 years was investigated using a respiratory questionnaire. Adult-onset asthma was defined as "physician-diagnosed" asthma with onset at or after 16 years of age. The subjects were asked about year of asthma diagnosis and year ...

OBJECTIVE To study the health, employment, and financial outcome of occupational asthma. DESIGN A follow study of workers with confirmed occupational asthma. SETTING A specialist occupational lung disease clinic. SUBJECTS All workers had a diagnosis of occupational asthma made at least one year earlier. Diagnosis was confirmed by serial peak expiratory flow measurement, specific bronchial...