[Diagnosis of occupational chronic pulmonary diseases]

Occupational risk factors may induce chronic nonmalignant respiratory diseases such as pneumoconiosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma or bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. Diagnosis is well codified by international guidelines for most of these occupational diseases except for COPD. The study of occupational COPD is complicated by several issues. In fact, COPD is a multifactorial disease and has a long latency between exposure to causative agents and the occurrence of disease. The main confounding factor is smoking. The quantitative estimation of cigarette smoked is easier and more accurate than that of occupational exposure. The diagnosis of COPD is based on the presence of chronic airflow limitation at spirometry; moreover, an accelerated decline in respiratory function may be observed in the longitudinal evaluation of workers. The retrospective assignment of occupational aetiology of COPD remains difficult in individual cases, especially with a significant history of smoking.