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Incidence of occupational asthma by occupation and industry in Finland
Author(s) -
Karjalainen Antti,
Kurppa Kari,
Virtanen Simo,
Keskinen Helena,
Nordman Henrik
Publication year - 2000
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(200005)37:5<451::aid-ajim1>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , occupational asthma , workforce , animal husbandry , population , environmental health , demography , asthma , veterinary medicine , agriculture , occupational exposure , geography , physics , archaeology , sociology , optics , economics , economic growth
Background Systematic research on occupation or industry‐specific incidence of occupational asthma (OA) is sparse. We calculated the incidence of notified OA by occupation, industry and causative agent in Finland for the years 1989–95. Methods The numbers of cases of reported OA were retrieved from the Finnish Registry of Occupational Diseases for the population between 20 and 64 years of age. The numbers of employed workers were retrieved from Statistics Finland. Incidence rates were calculated for each occupation, industry and the total workforce. Results Altogether 2602 cases of OA were notified and the mean annual incidence rate was 17.4 cases/100,000 employed workers. The incidence rate was the highest in bakers, other painters and lacquerers, veterinary surgeons, chemical workers, farmers, animal husbandry workers, other food manufacturing workers, welders, plastic product workers, butchers and sausage makers, and floor layers. Cases caused by animal epithelia, hairs and secretions or flours, grains, and fodders accounted for 60% of the total. Conclusions Estimation of occupation and industry‐specific incidence rates forms the basis for successful prevention of OA, but necessitates collection of data over several years from well‐established surveillance systems. Am. J. Ind. Med. 37:451–458, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.