Challenges for the new century in the epidemiology of adult asthma

摘要

Numerous risk factors are associated with asthma. To achieve adequate precision in epidemiologic studies of asthma, large populations and specific diagnostic methods are to be preferred. The association between air pollution (in a wide sense) and adult-onset asthma is well-known, but little is known about the actual risks. In published studies the fraction of adult-onset asthma caused by occupational exposures ranges from 4.8/100 to 36/100.