Respiratory abnormalities among grain elevator workers.

Twenty-two grain workers with respiratory symptoms and lung function abnormalities were studied. Our findings suggest that grain dust asthma probably has an allergic basis, even though skin tests and precipitin studies were negative using extracts of grain dust. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis and grain dust fever were not found in any of the subjects. We found that grain dust can cause airflow obstruction in two ways: first by inducing asthma, probably through immunologic mechanisms, and second, by causing industrial chronic bronchitis.