Occupational asthma as identified by the Surveillance of Work-related and Occupational Respiratory Diseases programme in South Africa

Researchers have identified cancer, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases as being the principal pathologies of increased aged standardized death rates (ASDRs) among noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The objective of this study was to compare the change in the ASDR of these principal NCDs between the years 2010 and 2016 in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. ASDR data were collected from the 2016 Global Health Estimate. Among the selected Southern African countries for both 2010 and 2016, the order of prevalence of NCDs linked to increased ASDR was cardiovascular diseases (both cardiac and stroke), cancer, diabetes mellitus, and chronic respiratory diseases. The percentage of the total number of NCDs linked to increased ASDR in relation to total deaths increased from 43.8% (in 2010) to 51.0% (in 2016) from ( p < .0001). The percentage of principal NCDs in relation to total ASDR increased from 33.0% (in 2010) to 38.2% (in 2016; p < .0001).

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Proceedings from the CIHLMU occupational safety and health symposium 2019 “Protecting workers’ health: global challenges and opportunities in work-related respiratory diseases”

BMC Proceedings ◽

10.1186/s12919-020-00197-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (S14) ◽

Author(s):

Netsanet Workneh Gidi ◽

Anna Suraya ◽

Beatrice Mutayoba ◽

Bernarda Espinoza ◽

Bindiya Meggi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Occupational Health ◽

Occupational Diseases ◽

Respiratory Diseases ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Occupational Safety And Health ◽

Work Related ◽

Global Challenges ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Challenges And Opportunities

AbstractThe international CIHLMU Occupational Safety and Health Symposium 2019 was held on 16th March, 2019 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany. About 60 participants from around the world representing occupational health and safety professionals, students, instructors from several institutions in Germany and abroad, attended the symposium.The main objective of the symposium was to create awareness on global challenges and opportunities in work-related respiratory diseases. One keynote lecture and six presentations were made. While the keynote lecture addressed issues on occupational diseases in the twenty-first century, the six presentations were centered on: Prevention and control of work-related respiratory diseases, considerations; Occupational health and safety in Mining: Respiratory diseases; The prevention of TB among health workers is our collective responsibility; Compensation and prevention of occupational diseases and discussion on how artificial intelligence can support them: Overview of international approaches; Work-related Asthma: Evidence from high-income countries; and The role of imaging in the diagnosis of work- related respiratory diseases. A panel discussion was conducted following the presentations on the importance and challenges of data acquisition which is needed to have a realistic picture of the occupational safety and health status of workers at different levels. The current summary is an attempt to share the proceedings of the symposium.

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Why Work? Do We Understand What Motivates Work-Related Decisions in South Africa?

Journal of Southern African Studies ◽

10.1080/03057070.2018.1403219 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 27-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Christine Jeske

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Work Related

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Methodological evaluation of human research on asthmagenicity and occupational cleaning: a case study of quaternary ammonium compounds (“quats”)

Allergy Asthma & Clinical Immunology ◽

10.1186/s13223-019-0384-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Judy S. LaKind ◽

Michael Goodman

Keyword(s):

Quaternary Ammonium ◽

Occupational Asthma ◽

Case Reports ◽

Challenge Test ◽

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds ◽

Work Related ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

Potential Link ◽

State Of The Science ◽

Ammonium Compounds

AbstractIn this paper, we review methodological approaches used in studies that evaluated the association between occupational exposure to quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) and occupational asthma. This association is of interest because quats are a common active ingredient of disinfectants and have been linked to work-related asthma in some circumstances. However, any evidence-based assessment of an exposure-outcome association needs to consider both strengths and limitations of the literature. We focus on publications cited by various US and international organizations. Eighteen investigations included in the review fall into two broad categories: case reports and challenge studies of individual patients and population studies that examined the association between quats and asthma occurrence in groups of subjects. We evaluated these studies guided by questions that address whether: exposure data on specific quat(s) and other agents that may cause asthma were included, new asthma cases were differentiated from asthma exacerbation, and information on respiratory sensitivity versus irritation was given. We also assessed consistency across studies. Studies of individual patients, particularly those that provided detailed information on challenge test results, document cases of asthma induced by exposure to quats. By contrast, studies of occupational groups with the highest potential for quats exposure (e.g., cleaners and farmers) do not consistently report increased incidence of asthma due specifically to quats. The unresolved methodological issues include: poor understanding of exposure pathways considering that quats are non-volatile, lack of quantitative data allowing for identification of an asthmagenicity threshold, insufficient information on whether quats are sensitizers or act via dose-dependent irritation or some other mechanism, and inability to quantify risk of new-onset asthma attributable to quats. Another important area of uncertainty is the lack of information on the specific quats being used. There is also a lack of data capable of distinguishing the effects of quats from those of other chemical and biological workplace exposures. The current state-of-the-science does not allow a proper assessment of the potential link between quats and occupational asthma.

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Barriers to the Recognition and Reporting of Occupational Asthma by Canadian Pulmonologists

Canadian Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1155/2011/754726 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 90-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Anu Parhar ◽

Catherine Lemiere ◽

Jeremy R Beach

Keyword(s):

Occupational Asthma ◽

Postal Questionnaire ◽

Perceived Barriers ◽

Work Related ◽

Inhalation Challenge ◽

Patient Concerns ◽

Analogue Scales ◽

Possible Cause ◽

New Onset

BACKGROUND: Occupational asthma is a common, but probably under-recognized problem.OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors that suggest work-related asthma when a pulmonologist encounters an adult patient with new-onset asthma, and to identify the barriers to recognizing and reporting such cases.METHODS: A postal questionnaire was sent to all pulmonologists in Canada. The questionnaire asked participants to respond to several questions about recognizing, diagnosing and reporting occupational asthma. Answers were scored using visual analogue scales.RESULTS: A total of 201 eligible responses were received from 458 pulmonologists. Pulmonologists identified that the most important factor in initially considering the role of work in occupational asthma was having seen others affected at the same workplace, or exposed to the same agent. Important perceived barriers to considering a diagnosis of occupational asthma were physicians’ low awareness, lack of knowledge and time. The most important barriers to reporting cases were the pulmonologists’ perceived patient concerns regarding job security and income. Quebec pulmonologists generally perceived barriers to recognizing and reporting occupational asthma to be less important, and believed that the use of specific inhalation challenge was more important in considering a diagnosis.CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonologists most readily recognized occupational asthma caused by a substance or process that they previously encountered as a possible cause of asthma. Time constraints and knowledge may hamper their ability to recognize occupational asthma. Concerns regarding the effect of the diagnosis on the patient’s job and income may discourage reporting.

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