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FEV1 decline in occupational asthma
W Anees1, V C Moore, P S Burge
1Occupational Lung Disease Unit, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, UK. anees@guernsey.net
Thorax
|May 4, 2006
Summary
Occupational asthma causes rapid lung function decline. Removing workers from exposure slows this decline, though it continues at a rate similar to healthy adults.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Medicine
- Pulmonology
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Continued workplace exposure in occupational asthma is linked to poor prognosis.
- Limited data exists on the rate of lung function decline with ongoing exposure and the impact of removal from exposure.
- Occupational asthma affects numerous workers, necessitating understanding of disease progression and management outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the rate of lung function decline in workers with occupational asthma before and after removal from exposure.
- To assess the impact of workplace exposure cessation on the trajectory of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1).
Main Methods:
- Analysis of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in 156 subjects with occupational asthma.
- Utilized simple regression analyses to estimate FEV1 decline rates.
- Compared FEV1 decline before and after removal from causative workplace agents.
Main Results:
- FEV1 declined rapidly at a mean rate of 100.9 ml/year in subjects exposed for at least 1 year prior to removal.
- Following removal, FEV1 decline slowed to a mean of 26.6 ml/year, a rate comparable to healthy adults.
- No significant difference in FEV1 decline was observed between smokers and non-smokers, nor was it affected by inhaled corticosteroid use.
Conclusions:
- Workers with occupational asthma experience rapid lung function decline while exposed.
- Removal from exposure leads to a significant slowing of FEV1 decline, though decline persists at a reduced rate.
- These findings highlight the critical importance of workplace exposure cessation for managing occupational asthma.
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