Occupational asthma--a model to study the natural history and pathogenic mechanisms in asthma

Occupational agents can give rise to asthma either through producing specific IgE antibodies or through some as yet unidentified immunological mechanism. Study of pathogenic mechanisms of occupational asthma can generate very useful information on the pathogenesis of nonoccupational asthma. Occupational asthma also provides an ideal model to study the natural history of asthma. As the agent responsible for asthma is known, it is possible to design a study to investigate predisposing host factors and level of exposure and their interaction in determining the onset, the severity, and the outcome of the disease.