Occupational asthma prevention

Pre-employment screening of potential workers for risk factors associated with occupational asthma is not viable from a legal/ethical stand or from a practical point of view. Newman-Taylor estimated that seven atopic individuals would have to be denied employment in order to eliminate one case of OA [81]. Since asthma is a complex disease, focus on one risk factor (e.g., atopy) will have little impact on prevention. Investigators have suggested that this can lead to a false sense of control with the opportunity for greater disease [82],... 

Schweigert, M.K., Mackenzie, D.P., and Sarlo, K., Occupational asthma and allergy associated with the use of enzymes in the detergent industry a review of the epidemiology, toxicology and methods of prevention, Clin Exp Allergy, 30, 1511, 2000. 

Primary prevention aims to prevent occupational exposure and other determinants of occupational asthma. Elimination of the sensitising agent is the most secure way of preventing exposure. If this is not practicable, reduction in exposure is combined with reducing the numbers of people exposed. 

General principles of prevention of occupational asthma, rhinoconjimctivitis and dermatitis (e.g. hand eczema or contact dermatitis) should be published by national regulatory and advisory bodies. 

Table 4.1 Examples of prevention strategies in the general population and for occupational asthma caused by chemicals...

Kanerva L, Bjorkner B, Estlander T, et al. (1996) Plastic materials occupational exposure, skin irritancy and its prevention. In van der Valk PGM, Maibach HI (eds) The irritant contact dermatitis syndrome. CRC, Boca Raton, p 127 Moscato G, Biscaldi G, Cottica D, et al. (1987) Occupational asthma due to styrene two case reports. J Occup Med 29 957 Osmundsen PE (1980) Contact urticaria from nickel and plastic additives, butylhydroxytoluene, oleylamide. Contact Dermatitis 6 452... 

NIOSH scientists work in multidisciplinary teams and carry out a focused program of intramural and extramural research to prevent or reduce work-related injury and illness. In 1996, NIOSH and over 500 partners established the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), a framework to guide the efforts of the occupational safety and health community in 21 priority research areas. NORA encompasses research areas such as traumatic injury, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hearing loss, and control technologies. These priority areas were identified through extensive input from NIOSH s federal and nonfederal partners. Since 1996, NIOSH has aligned its intramural and extramural research to increase its investment in NORA priority areas. 

Occupational health schemes are run by employers to provide facilities for employees for the treatment and prevention of disease. This can take a number of different forms, depending on the working environment, for example, monitoring for dermatitis in printing works, asthma in bakeries, providing travel medicines and information for employees travelling on behalf of the company, influenza vaccines for... 

---