Flour, cleaning products top causes of occupational asthma in France

Flour and cleaning products were the main causes of occupational asthma in France, according to presenters at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Munich.

“This study has given us a detailed understanding of the occupational asthma cases in France,” researcher Frederic de Blay, MD, of University Hospital Strasbourg, said in a press release. “It helps to show us where people are being exposed to harmful agents and who is most likely to be affected.”

De Blay and colleagues collected data from 2008 to 2011 based on a network of respiratory physicians specializing in occupational diseases. Three hundred thirty cases were analyzed, which corresponded to a mean annual incidence rate of 36 per million.

Flour was the primary cause (20%) of occupational asthma, followed by quaternary ammonium compounds (15%) found in cleaning products.

Women were more likely than men to be diagnosed with occupational asthma (43 per million vs. 29 per million), using age-standardized incidence rates. Skilled and unskilled workers had higher incidence rates (116 per million) compared with farmers (97 per million) and self-employed workers (43 per million). Employees of food product and beverage manufacturing companies (279 per million) reported the highest incidence rates vs. agricultural, forestry and fishing workers (160 per million).

“These findings are important as they can help with future prevention methods to make sure people who are at risk of occupational asthma are protected from it,” de Blay said.

For more information:

de Blay F. #700819. Presented at: European Respiratory Society 2014 International Congress; Sept. 6-10; Munich.

Disclosure: de Blay did not report any relevant financial disclosures.