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- Title
Bronchial responsiveness in bakery workers: relation to airway symptoms, IgE sensitization, nasal indices of inflammation, flour dust exposure and smoking.
- Authors
Storaas, Torgeir; Irgens, Ågot; Florvaag, Erik; Steinsvåg, Sverre K.; Årdal, Laila; Do, Thien Van; Greiff, Lennart; Aasen, Tor B.
- Abstract
Background Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) is common in bakery workers. The relation between bronchial responsiveness measured with a tidal breathing method and smoking, airway symptoms, IgE-sensitization, nasal indices of inflammation and flour dust exposure have been studied with bronchial responsiveness expressed as a continuous outcome. Material and methods Bakery workers ( n = 197) were subjected to interviews, questionnaires, allergy tests, workplace dust measurements and bronchial metacholine provocation. Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and α2-macroglobulin were measured in nasal lavage. Bronchial responsiveness was expressed as slopeconc, a measurement based on regressing the per cent reduction in FEV1 at each provocation step. Results BHR expressed as slopeconc was associated with smoking ( P = 0·009), asthma symptoms at work ( P = 0·001), and occupational IgE sensitization ( P = 0·048). After adjusting for baseline lung function the association between BHR and IgE sensitization was no longer present. We demonstrated an association between nasal ECP and BHR (slopeconc < 3: P = 0·012), but not to α2-macroglobulin in nasal lavage. No association was seen between BHR and current exposure level of flour dust, number of working years in a bakery or a history of dough-making. Conclusion BHR is related to baseline lung function, work-related asthma symptoms, smoking and nasal eosinophil activity, but not to occupational IgE sensitization and current flour dust exposure when measured with metacholine provocation. The slopeconc expression seems to be a useful continuous outcome in bronchial responsiveness testing.
- Subjects
BRONCHIAL spasm; BAKERY employees; RESPIRATORY allergy; IMMUNOLOGIC diseases; PULMONARY function tests; EOSINOPHILS; WORK environment; SMOKING; DISEASES
- Publication
Clinical Physiology & Functional Imaging, 2007, Vol 27, Issue 5, p327
- ISSN
1475-0961
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1475-097X.2007.00755.x