Nordman H
Finnish Institute of occupational Health, Helsinki.
Scand J Work Environ Health. 1994;20 Spec No:108-15.
Incidence figures show that occupational asthma is increasing. It often takes a deteriorating course. Follow-up studies of workers suffering from the disease have uniformly reported persistence of symptoms over long periods, even among formerly exposed workers. New initiators of occupational asthma are continuously being reported. Still "old" agents, such as diisocyanates and flours, remain major causes. There seems to be some disconnection in the dialogue between the medical and the technical parties involved. For prevention, it is essential to ensure that important information not only reaches those who are responsible for designing and maintaining processes, but that it is presented in an intelligible form. Occupational asthma has become an important occupational disease that merits high priority. Recent achievements should facilitate preventive actions. However, prevention is a multidisciplinary enterprise needing the commitment of industrial hygienists and engineers, chemists, and allergologists, in addition to that of occupational health personnel.
发病率数据显示职业性哮喘正在增加。其病情往往呈恶化趋势。对患有该疾病工人的随访研究一致报告称，即使是曾经接触过的工人，症状也会长期持续存在。职业性哮喘的新发病例仍不断有报告。像二异氰酸酯和面粉这类“老”的致病因素仍是主要病因。在相关医学方和技术方之间的对话似乎存在一些脱节。为了预防，必须确保重要信息不仅要传达给负责设计和维护工艺流程的人员，而且要以易懂的形式呈现。职业性哮喘已成为一种重要的职业病，应给予高度重视。近期的成果应有助于预防行动。然而，预防是一项多学科工作，除职业卫生人员外，还需要工业卫生学家、工程师、化学家以及过敏症专科医生的共同努力。
