[Epidemiologic and sociologic aspects of occupational bronchial asthma]

The main problems confronted in epidemiological investigations of occupational bronchial asthma are described, such as the absence of a definition of the disease, the need for a standardized questionnaire for the symptoms of the disease and the heterogeneity of the functional lung tests. The questionnaires most frequently used for respiratory symptoms and the most suitable tests for measuring and evaluating ventilatory lung function are discussed. The problem of identifying the persons who are at risk of developing occupational bronchial asthma is also dealt with.