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Occupational obstructive airway diseases in Germany
Author(s) -
Baur X.,
Degens P.,
Weber K.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199805)33:5<454::aid-ajim4>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational asthma , occupational disease , asthma , environmental health , chronic bronchitis , occupational safety and health , occupational medicine , disease , occupational lung disease , bronchitis , incidence (geometry) , occupational exposure , pathology , physics , optics
Abstract In industrialized countries, occupational asthma caused by allergens and irritants due to workplace exposure is increasing. More than 8,000 such claims were made in Germany (10.5% of all decided occupational disease claims) in 1995; 1,900 were confirmed (6.5% of all confirmed claims). The legal basis and the occupational disease‐related regulations of trade‐assigned statutory accident insurance institutions (‘Berufsgenossenschaften’) in Germany are described. Hitherto, three occupational disease categories for obstructive airway disorders existed: due to sensitizing agents, due to chemical‐irritative or toxic agents, and due to isocyanates. Approximately 40% of accepted claims for occupational asthma and rhinitis result from exposure to flour. Ongoing changes in the recognition of work‐related airway disease symptoms account for differences in the incidence and prevalence as reported over the years. Recently, chronic obstructive bronchitis and/or emphysema of hard coal miners have been included in the German list of occupational diseases. Am. J. Ind. Med. 33:454–462, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.