[Occupational asthma: medical and social prognosis]

The medical and social prognosis of occupational asthma has only been assessed with retrospective studies. The main findings are analyzed here. The wide range of methods used to obtain a positive diagnosis of occupational asthma and more or less complete eviction of the causal agent hinder interpretation of the results. Nevertheless, the findings reported in 15 studies focusing on the medical prognosis have shown that in 70% of the cases, occupational asthma remains symptomatic after eviction. The number of years the asthma existed at diagnosis is higher in subjects who remain symptomatic after eviction. In most patients with occupational asthma, the absence of eviction leads to accentuation of the obstructive syndrome and non-specific bronchial hyperreactivity. When the occupational disease has been recognized, the social-professional consequences unfortunately often include loss of employment and lower revenue.