Balbay Ege Gulec, Karatas Naciye, Arbak Peri, Binay Songul, Yavuz Ozlem, Annakkaya Ali Nihat, Balbay Oner, Toru Umran
Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Duzce University, 81620 Duzce, Turkey.
ScientificWorldJournal. 2012;2012:108953. doi: 10.1100/2012/108953. Epub 2012 Dec 25.
Aim. Previous studies have shown a higher sensitization rate to hazelnut in processing workers but no relation was found between the respiratory symptoms in workplace and hazelnut sensitization. Material and Method. To evaluate the association between the hazelnut sensitization and workplace-related respiratory complaints, hazelnut processing workers had undergone a questionnaire included work-related respiratory symptoms, smoking history, pulmonary function testing, and measurement of serum IgE antibodies against hazelnut. Results. This study consisted of 88 hazelnut processing workers (79 females and 9 males), aged 14-59 years (Mean ± SD: 33.8 ± 10.5 years). The mean working duration was 38.8 ± 36.6 months (min: 1-max: 180). Specific IgE against hazelnut allergens was positive in 14 of cases (17.1%). There was no significant difference between the cases with and without specific IgE against hazelnut allergens regarding respiratory symptoms, history of allergy, smoking status and spirometric values. Conclusion. 17.1% of the hazelnut processing workers were seropositive against hazelnut. Being sensitized to hazelnut was not found to be associated with work-related respiratory symptoms in this study. Further studies are needed in hazelnut workers respiratory health to search topics other than asthma.
目的。以往研究表明，加工工人对榛子的致敏率较高，但未发现工作场所的呼吸道症状与榛子致敏之间存在关联。材料与方法。为评估榛子致敏与工作场所相关呼吸道不适之间的关联，对榛子加工工人进行了问卷调查，内容包括与工作相关的呼吸道症状、吸烟史、肺功能测试以及血清中针对榛子的IgE抗体检测。结果。本研究包括88名榛子加工工人（79名女性和9名男性），年龄在14 - 59岁之间（平均±标准差：33.8 ± 10.5岁）。平均工作时长为38.8 ± 36.6个月（最短：1个月 - 最长：180个月）。14例（17.1%）对榛子过敏原的特异性IgE呈阳性。在呼吸道症状、过敏史、吸烟状况和肺功能检测值方面，对榛子过敏原特异性IgE阳性和阴性的病例之间无显著差异。结论。17.1%的榛子加工工人血清中对榛子呈阳性反应。本研究未发现榛子致敏与工作相关的呼吸道症状有关。需要对榛子加工工人的呼吸道健康进行进一步研究，以探寻除哮喘之外的其他课题。
