OBJECTIVES To assess the relation between measured levels of exposure to soluble oil mists in a plant manufacturing ball bearings, and both respiratory symptoms and airway responsiveness in the workforce. METHODS 114 male workers exposed to oil mist and 55 unexposed male controls from nearby factories were studied. Soluble oil mist concentrations were measured with area samplers. Respiratory ...

BACKGROUND Asthma guidelines suggest stepping-down of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) when asthma is stable. OBJECTIVE To determine outcomes of stepping-down and prediction of outcome after stepping-down of ICSs in controlled adult asthma. METHODS We performed a retrospective study on 21-81 year-old hospital-based outpatients with asthma in Japan. Protocol for stepping-down of ICSs was perfo...

half of the 20th century has not been evenly distributed according to recent surveys. We assessed changes in the prevalence of asthma after a period of 9 to 10 years in a cohort of young adults in the Spanish arm of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The ECRHS-II is a multicenter cohort study taking place in 27 centers around Europe, with Spanish cen...

BACKGROUND A systematic quantitative review of the evidence relating parental smoking to the prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms was conducted amongst school age children. METHODS Sixty relevant studies were identified after consideration of 1593 articles selected by electronic search of the Embase and Medline databases using keywords relevant to passive smoking in children. The sea...

This study was undertaken to examine the prevalence of bronchitis (cough with phlegm) symptoms in teenagers who either smoked cigarettes on a regular basis (active smokers) or were non-smokers but who are exposed to passive smoking (passive smokers) in the home. The study was undertaken in 1995 and repeated in 1998. The 1995 study was a cross sectional questionnaire survey of smoking habits in ...

BACKGROUND Sleep disturbance is a common complaint in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). However, the factors resulting in sleep disturbance remain unclear. This retrospective, observational, multicenter study aimed to identify the factors associated with sleep disturbance in patients with COPD. METHODS The study was a retrospective, observational, and multicenter research...