Reference

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.

Study aimed to investigate the relation between wood dust exposure and different indices of asthma among 302 woodworkers and 71 non-exposed subjects. There was a tendency to increased risk of asthma among atopic woodworkers compared to atopic non-exposed subjects. Wood dust exposure was associated with asthma, despite a low dust level compared to other studies. Atopy was an important effect modifier in the association between asthma and wood dust exposure. When the golden standard was defined as bronchial hyper-responsiveness or bronchodilator induced reversibility or increased peak expiratory flow variability, the sensitivity of asthma symptoms as defined in this study was 75% with a specificity of 61%. Physician diagnosed asthma had an 85% specificity, but the sensitivity was low, 33%.

BOHRF Associated Evidence Statements

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