The history of research on asthma in the workplace — Development, victories and perspectives

TL;DRAbstract

Here we review the historical landmarks of occupational asthma (OA). Although there has been suspicion for long that proteins can cause allergic sensitisation and OA, it is only in the last century that evidence that chemicals can cause OA has been published. Acute irritation of the bronchi has also been incriminated in the genesis of OA. Although an IgE-mediated process has been clearly identified in OA caused by proteinaceous material, the mechanism of OA remains unknown for chemicals. Population-based studies, examination of population data bank, sentinel-based studies and prospective interventions in high-risk workplaces have greatly improved our estimates of the frequency of the condition and helped to identify risk factors. Although diagnostic means are more diversified, they are still not used sufficiently. However, characterisation of the occupational environment has become more accurate, and scales for assessing impairment/disability are now available. Estimates of the proport

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