Reference

Meredith SK, Taylor VM, McDonald JC, Occupational respiratory disease in the United Kingdom 1989: a report to the British Thoracic Society and the Society of Occupational Medicine by the SWORD project group, Br J Ind Med, 1991;48:292-298,

BOHRF Original Authors' Main Conclusions

The original authors' main conclusions are taken from Abstract, Results and Discussion. They are decided upon by the authors of the BOHRF occupational asthma guidelines and form part of the guidelines.

The SWORD surveillance scheme uses systematic reporting from physicians to provide a picture of the incidence of occupational respiratory disease in the United Kingdom. 26% of total reported cases were of occupational asthma. The most commonly identified agents causing asthma were isocyanates, flour/grain dusts, wood dust and solder flux. The authors report an overall incidence of 22/million/yr.

BOHRF Associated Evidence Statements

The BOHRF occupational asthma guidelines state that this reference is associated with the following evidence statements

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The annual population incidence of occupationally related asthma ranges from an estimated 12 to 170 cases per million workers with an estimated mean of 47 cases per million workers.

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The most frequently reported agents include isocyanates, flour and grain dust, colophony and fluxes, latex, animals, aldehydes and wood dust.

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The workers most commonly reported to surveillance schemes of occupational asthma include paint sprayers, bakers and pastry makers, nurses, chemical workers, animal handlers, welders, food processing workers and timber workers.

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The risk of sensitisation and occupational asthma is increased by higher exposures to many workplace agents.

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Cigarette smoking can increase the risk of developing occupational asthma with some sensitising agents.