More than half of the people with COPD reported that they had been exposed to airborne toxins in the workplace, while only one in three of those free of respiratory disease reported such exposure. Analysis of the results showed that exposure to various workplace toxins doubles the risk of COPD, and that workplace exposure is a contributing cause of 20 to 31 percent of the diagnosed COPD cases.
Less than 20 percent of those suffering from COPD were still working half the percentage of those without COPD -- underscoring the physical and financial toll of the disease.
"Given the severe impact of COPD, it is critical to identify all possible avenues of exposure," said Laura Trupin, MPH, an epidemiologist in the UCSF Department of Medicine and lead author on the study. "These findings direct us to look beyond the cigarette when we consider prevention of chronic lung disease."
While smoking remains the predominant cause of COPD, the study's authors conclude that "the workplace environment plays an important role too...clinicians and public health policymakers must also take workplace conditions into account when establishing preventive strategies."
The team focused on each subject's longest period of workplace exposure to vapors, gases, dusts or fumes. In addition to the information provided by the respondents on what they may have inhaled, the scientists relied on data from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, which identifies the degree of exposure to toxic substances for each type of job.
In the study, occupational risk factors were c
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Contact: Wallace Ravven
wravven@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-502-1332
University of California - San Francisco
25-Aug-2003