Allergies in the workplace

摘要

The incidence of adult-onset asthma from pooled population studies is estimated to be 3.6 per 1 000 person-years in males and 4.6 cases per 1 000 person-years in females. In adults with new-onset asthma, occupational asthma is reported to be the most common phenotype. Work-related factors are estimated to account for up to 25% of adult cases of asthma with occupational asthma being responsible for about 16% of adult-onset asthma cases.This review aims at identifying similarities and differences between ubiquitous adult-onset and occupational asthma from different literature published from 2010 to 2013, in respect of the epidemiology, phenotypic manifestations and risk factors for the disease. The review finds that ubiquitous adult-onset asthma is a heterogenous entity and that environmental exposure factors (aside from.occupational exposures) appear to have a lesser role than host factors.Further studies are needed to identify the similarities and differences between ubiquitous adult-onset and occupational asthma, which may enable a better understanding of these entities and promote efforts towards holistic management approaches for these asthma phenotypes.