[Work-relatedness of asthma among outpatients].

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) issued a statement in 2002 that approximately 15% of adult asthma was likely to be work related and emphasized the importance of prevention for occupational asthma. However, the occupational contribution of the burden of asthma has been not understood, because there are very few epidemiological studies in the general population in Japan that examined the population attributable risk (PAR) of asthma due to occupational exposures. Assessing this component of the burden of asthma can better inform preventive strategies. Therefore, we examined the PAR of adult asthma due to occupational exposures among outpatients by using the National Institute for Occupational Safery and Health (NIOSH) criteria. Additionally we examined characteristics of cases of work-related asthma. The results indicate that the PAR of asthma due to occupational exposures is 22.7%, a value comparable to previous reports in Western countries. Therefore, we thought that it suggested that the prevalence of work-related asthma in Japan is similar to Western countries. Five patients met the criteria for having "probable OA", and their occupations were pest control industry, florist, hairdresser and pet groomer. Two patients (40%) changed their jobs due to asthma, which suggests that work-related asthma materially affects continuation of employment. Four patients (80%) had asthma despite leaving their jobs, which suggests that it is crucial to prevent work-related asthma.