Flour is responsible for the development of occupational asthma in France, according to the results of a study presented at the International Congress of the European Respiratory Society in Munich.
Disinfectants and cleaning products are the second products linked to occupational asthma. Bakers, pastry chefs and surface technicians are therefore the populations most at risk of developing these respiratory diseases.
Asthma is the most common respiratory disease occurring during professional activity. It can be caused by different types of substances. The National Observatory of Occupational Asthma estimates that the annual incidence is 36 cases per million and that 9% of asthma cases in France are occupational.
To identify the elements responsible for these respiratory diseases, the pulmonologist, Prof. Frédéric de Blay of the University Hospitals of Strasbourg, in cooperation with the Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS), studied 330 cases of occupational asthma listed between 2008 and 2011. .
The results of this study reveal that flour was identified as the main cause of occupational asthma, disinfectants and household products as the second cause. Substances present in discoloration products are also largely responsible for this pathology.
“Flour is responsible for 20% of cases ofasthma professionals, ammonium compounds present in disinfectant products, attributed to 15% of cases, followed by persulphates, substances present in bleaching products “explains Professor Frédéric de Blay, co-author of the study.
“The women are globally more affected than men, with 43 cases per million workers, against 29 cases among men, probably because it is mainly women who do the cleaning, “notes Professor de Blay.
“This study has given us a detailed understanding of cases of occupational asthma in France, it helps us to show us where people are exposed to harmful agents and who is most likely to be affected. These results may help with this. ‘future to the implementation of prevention methods to ensure that people who are at risk of occupational asthma are better protected “explains the pulmonologist, Professor Frédéric de Blay.
