Abstract

Occupational asthma is the occupational respiratory disease most frequently recognized by the CSST. In Québec, 60 new cases are compensated annually, with half involving young workers. In some industrial sectors, less than five years elapse between the start of exposure and the appearance of the first symptoms.
Close to 400 workers that took part in a previous study on apprentices collaborated in this study. The authors wanted to characterize the natural history of occupational asthma. To do this, they followed the development of intermediate manifestations leading to the appearance of probable occupational asthma, namely allergic sensitization specific to laboratory animals, flour and latex, based on the initial training of the participating workers, the respiratory symptoms in the workplace, and bronchial hyperreactivity. The knowledge resulting from this study can be useful in improving the training offered to apprentices on the risks of disease and incapacity associated with allergen exposure in the workplaces of their chosen profession and on the steps to be taken for prevention.