Romano C, Sulotto F, Piolatto G, Ciacco C, Capellaro E, Falagiani P, Constable D W, Verga A, Scansetti G
Department of Traumatology, Orthopaedics and Occupational Medicine, University of Turin, Italy.
Clin Exp Allergy. 1995 Jul;25(7):643-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1995.tb01112.x.
Occupational allergic respiratory symptoms in coffee workers have been frequently reported, but the ultimate cause of sensitization is still debated, castor bean being considered besides green coffee beans. Atopy and cigarette smoking have been suggested as promoting factors of sensitization for several occupational allergens.
This study was carried out to assess the prevalence of allergic respiratory symptoms and of sensitization to both green coffee beans and castor bean in the whole workforce of a coffee manufacturing plant. Furthermore we wanted to ascertain both the presence of castor bean antigens in the settled dust of the green coffee beans warehouse and the possible crossreactivity between the two beans. Meanwhile, the effect of smoking and atopy was considered.
Two-hundred and eleven workers were examined. A questionnaire on oculorhinitis and asthma was administered and skin-prick tests for green coffee beans, castor bean and 15 common inhalant allergens were carried out. Isoelectric focusing, isoelectric focusing immunoblot and radioallergosorbent assay (RAST) inhibition were performed on samples of settled environmental dust from the green coffee area, as well as on castor bean and green coffee beans.
Ten per cent of the workers complained of oculorhinitis alone and 16% of asthma (nearly always associated with oculorhinitis). The overall prevalence of skin-sensitization was: 15% for green coffee beans, 22% for castor bean, 22% for common allergens. Evidence of sensitization to occupational allergens was more common in smokers, with a more than twofold increase in relative risk. The strong association between skin positivity to common and occupational allergens suggests that atopy acts as an enhancing host factor towards occupational sensitization. The analysis of the dust confirmed the presence of castor bean antigens.
Our findings indicate that castor bean is the major cause of occupational sensitization among coffee workers, whereas smoking and atopy act as enhancing factors.
咖啡行业工人出现职业性过敏性呼吸道症状的报道屡见不鲜，但致敏的最终原因仍存在争议，除了生咖啡豆外，蓖麻子也被纳入考虑范围。特应性体质和吸烟被认为是多种职业过敏原致敏的促进因素。
本研究旨在评估一家咖啡生产厂全体员工中过敏性呼吸道症状的患病率以及对生咖啡豆和蓖麻子的致敏情况。此外，我们还想确定生咖啡豆仓库沉降灰尘中蓖麻子抗原的存在情况以及两种豆子之间可能存在的交叉反应。同时，考虑吸烟和特应性体质的影响。
对211名工人进行了检查。发放了关于眼鼻炎和哮喘的问卷，并对生咖啡豆、蓖麻子和15种常见吸入性过敏原进行了皮肤点刺试验。对来自生咖啡区域的环境沉降灰尘样本、蓖麻子和生咖啡豆进行了等电聚焦、等电聚焦免疫印迹和放射变应原吸附试验（RAST）抑制检测。
10%的工人仅抱怨有眼鼻炎，16%的工人抱怨有哮喘（几乎总是与眼鼻炎相关）。皮肤致敏的总体患病率为：生咖啡豆15%，蓖麻子22%，常见过敏原22%。吸烟者对职业过敏原致敏的证据更为常见，相对风险增加了两倍多。对常见过敏原和职业过敏原皮肤检测呈阳性之间的强关联表明，特应性体质是职业致敏的增强宿主因素。灰尘分析证实了蓖麻子抗原的存在。
我们的研究结果表明，蓖麻子是咖啡行业工人职业致敏的主要原因，而吸烟和特应性体质则是增强因素。
