What are risk factors for occupational asthma?
Occupational asthma should be suspected in any adult with new asthma, but most workers who are exposed to potential asthma-causing agents in the workplace do not go on to develop occupational asthma. The patient’s individual characteristics, as well as other factors in the workplace environment play a role in the development of the disease. One of the main risk factors for occupational asthma is atopy. Atopy is a syndrome characterized by sensitivity to allergens that predisposes an individual to develop occupational asthma. People with atopy often have seasonal allergies or hay fever (allergic rhinitis), chronic inflammation of the nose and sinuses (sinusitis), allergic skin rashes (eczema), and food allergies. People with atopy are not only predisposed to occupational asthma, but they often have non-work-related asthma as well, and their preexisting asthma can be exacerbated by workplace agents (work-aggravated asthma). Scientists have also discovered specific genes involved with the
