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Environmental and Occupational Causes of Asthma

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A Clinical Guide to Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases

Part of the book series: Respiratory Medicine ((RM))

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Abstract

Airborne allergens are one of the major causes of asthma. People living in urban areas more frequently experience allergic respiratory symptoms than those living in rural areas. Seasonal exposure to outdoor allergens, (pollens, and molds) is an important cause. Identification and reduction of exposure to allergens is a very important part of the management of respiratory allergic diseases. Indoor humidity and water damage are important factors in the production of mite and mold allergens, and discarded human food items are important sources of proliferation of cockroaches and mice.

The particular plants or molds and the amount of exposure to these allergens are determined by the local climate, and published local pollen and mold counts are available to determine the time and amount of exposure. One of several causes of the rise in morbidity associated with allergic respiratory diseases is the increased presence of outdoor air pollutants resulting from more intense energy consumption and exhaust emissions from cars and other vehicles. Urban air pollution is now a serious public health hazard. The most abundant components of urban air pollution in urban areas with high levels of vehicle traffic are airborne particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone. In addition, the earth’s temperature is increasing, mainly as a result of factors like fossil fuel combustion and greenhouse gas emissions from energy supply, transport, industry, and agriculture, and climate change alters the concentration and distribution of air pollutants and interferes with the seasonal presence of allergenic pollens.

Occupational asthma is the most common occupational respiratory disorder in industrialized countries and more than 250 agents have been reported to cause occupational asthma. The most frequent are diisocyanates, flour and grain dust, airborne particles from other foods (especially fish), colophony and fluxes, latex, animals (especially laboratory animals), aldehydes, and wood dust. For physicians caring for adult patients with asthma, an understanding of the contribution of occupational exposure to the pathogenesis of the disease is important. Prevention of new cases is the best approach to reducing the burden of asthma attributable to occupational exposures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Marcos Ribeiro

  2. Respiratory Division, University Health Network and St Michael’s Hospital, 399 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Susan M. Tarlo

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  1. Marcos Ribeiro
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  1. Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and, Critical Care Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, 330 Trent Drive, Hanes House, Rm 105-B, Durham, 27705, North Carolina, USA

    Yuh-Chin T. Huang

  2. , Human Studies Facility, Environmental Public Health Division, 104 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, 27711, North Carolina, USA

    Andrew J. Ghio

  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Environmental and, National Jewish Health, 1400 Jackson, Denver, 80206, Colorado, USA

    Lisa A. Maier

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Ribeiro, M., Tarlo, S.M. (2012). Environmental and Occupational Causes of Asthma. In: Huang, YC., Ghio, A., Maier, L. (eds) A Clinical Guide to Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases. Respiratory Medicine. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-149-3_5

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