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Disease/Syndrome Asthma, occupational Category Airway Disease Acute/Chronic Chronic Synonyms Occupational Asthma (OA); Biomedical References Search PubMed Comments Immunologic asthma develops after a variable period of time during which sensitization to an agent present in the workplace takes place. Immunologic asthma can be classified as that caused by high-molecular or low-molecular weight compounds. To make the diagnosis of occupational asthma, one must first confirm the presence of airway hyperreactivity. [Sullivan, p. 218] In Norway from 1995-1999, an average of 223 annual cases were reported with the highest incidence in the primary aluminum industry, and in bakers, car painters, and welders. [PMID 16142736] In 1993-1997 surveillance data from California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey, 16% of cases were health-care workers, many of them nurses, with cleaning products, latex, and poor air quality the most frequently reported exposures. In the updated report for 1993-2000, 9% of work-related asthma cases were reported in educational services due to indoor air pollutants, unspecified mold, dusts, and cleaning products. [PMID 15712261 and 18033692] Latency/Incubation Months to years Diagnostic History; Pulmonary function test; Methacholine challenge test; Specific challenge test ICD-9 Code 493.0 Reference Link OSHA - Occupational Asthma Related Information in Haz-Map Symptoms/Findings Symptoms/Findings associated with this disease: chest tightness cough dyspnea, acute dyspnea, exertional eosinophilia hyperinflation obstructive defect wheezing Job Tasks High risk job tasks associated with this disease: Arc weld stainless steel Assemble products using cyanoacrylate glues Develop color photographs with compounds containing amines Disinfect or sterilize medical equipment Dye fur with compounds containing amines Dye or bleach hair, or use ethanolamines in beauty culture Formulate, mold, or cure resins to produce advanced composite materials Galvanize metal Generate bioaerosols derived from milk, eggs, or animal serum Generate bioaerosols of animal-derived proteins Generate bioaerosols of biological enzymes Generate bioaerosols processing seafood Generate flour dust Generate grain dust Generate guar gum bioaerosols Generate insect-derived bioaerosols Generate latex dust in manufacturing latex products Generate latex dust using latex products Generate mists of metalworking fluids containing ethanolamines Generate plant bioaerosols processing or packing food products Generate plant-derived bioaerosols Generate plastic dusts or powders (Plexiglas or polyvinyl chloride) Generate psyllium dust Grind, mix, or weigh dyes or apply dyes to textiles Handle flowers Handle laboratory animals Heat or machine chromium alloys Heat or machine cobalt alloys Heat plastics--polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, or polypropylene Inhale aspergillus in bakery, beet sugar refinery, or biotechnology plant Inhale bioaerosols in the home, school, or office environment Inhale insect allergens in fish food or fish bait Inhale insect allergens in the laboratory Inhale mite allergens while farming or handling flour or grain Inhale plant mold (greenhouse worker) or slime mold (microbiologist) Inhale Rhizopus nigricans in a coal mine Machine wood and inhale dust Make molds in foundry using MDI, furfuryl alcohol, or amine curing agents Manually "lay-up" reinforced polyester resins using styrene Manufacture cemented carbide materials or tools Manufacture isothiazolinones Manufacture pesticides containing captafol Manufacture rosin core solder Mix and apply bone adhesives Mix or pack pharmaceutical products Plate metal with chromium Plate metal with nickel Prepare fruit salad using a solution of enzymes (pectinase and glucanase) Prepare potatoes using metabisulfite powder Produce nacre buttons from mollusc shells Produce silk (sericulture) Spray chlorothalonil or tetramethrin (pesticides) Spray epoxy or polyurethane paint, shellac, lacquer, or varnish Spray polyurethane foam insulation Use anhydride compounds to manufacture chemical products Use azodicarbonamide as additive to plastics and rubber Use cemented carbide materials or tools Use chloramine-T for cleaning or disinfecting Use chromates or dichromates in printing Use chromates or dichromates in tanning Use dental acrylate compounds Use diazonium salts to manufacture photocopy paper or polymers Use diisocyanates to manufacture polyurethane products Use epoxy, isocyanate, or formaldehyde-resin adhesives, finishes, or sealants Use ethanolamines in cleaning products Use formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde to develop x-rays in darkroom Use methacrylates to apply artificial fingernails Use polyfunctional aziridine hardener in paints, varnishes, or other coatings Use solder containing colophony, zinc chloride, or ammonium chloride flux Use tetrazene to manufacture detonators Work as cement floorer with exposure to chromate salts Work in indoor pool as lifeguard or swimming instructor Work in potroom at aluminum smelter Agents Hazardous agents that cause the occupational disease: Asthma-inducing agents

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