262,257 research outputs found
Prevalence and determinants of asthma and rhinitis in an Italian cleaning company from Terni, Italy
No full textBackground: Professional and domestic
cleaning has been associated with new
onset and work-exacerbated asthma and
rhinitis. Cleaners are exposed to multiple
cleaning agents. The aim of this study was
to assess the prevalence and determinants
of asthma and rhinitis in 234 subjects
working in an Italian cleaning company
based in Terni.
Method: In this cross-sectional study a
cohort of 234 cleaning company workers
(126 cleaners and 108 non-exposed controls),
completed the Italian version of the
ECRHS I and ECRHS II occupational
modules to assess exposure to cleaning
agents and prevalence of asthma and rhinitis.
They also performed lung function
tests. Statistical differences in continuous
variables were tested by the two-tailed
paired t test. Differences in proportions
were tested by the V2 or Fisher’s exact test,
when appropriate. Differences were considered
significant at P < 0.05. The influence
of cleaning tasks or products, schooling,
sex, age and smoking status (predictors) on
asthma or rhinitis (dependent variables)
was analyzed by logistic regression.
Result: The 234 subjects had a mean age
of 44 years; cleaners were 4 years older
than controls. 79% were female and 43%
were current smokers. Median schooling
was 17 years (range 10–24). 54% of the
cohort worked as cleaners in public buildings,
hospitals and schools, and 46% were
white-collar workers and drivers who were
not exposed to cleaning products (controls).
The prevalence of current asthma
was 6% in cleaners and 1% in controls.
Prevalence of rhinitis was 17% and 15%,
respectively. Using glass cleaning sprays at
work ‡1 day/week was associated with current
asthma (OR = 19.0, CI 2.1–159.9).
Cleaners <39 years old had a greater risk
of asthma (OR = 5.0, CI 1.2–21.7) than
older co-workers, after adjusting for other
predictors.
Conclusion: We confirm that exposure to
cleaning products is associated with
asthma. Use of glass cleaning sprays is an
important determinant. The healthy
worker effect could account for the higher
risk of asthma that we found in younger
cleaners. Moreover, there is evidence that
the incidence of work-related symptoms is
higher in the first 2–3 years after starting
exposure and tends to decrease thereafte
ANALISI DEI RISULTATI DELLE VISITE DI SORVEGLIANZA SANITARIA SU RICHIESTA DEL LAVORATORE IN UN’OSPEDALE UNIVERSITARIO
No full textNon‐industrial Indoor Environments and Work‐Related Asthma
No full textWork-related asthma is one of the most relevant work-related diseases worldwide, causing a high socio-economical burden. In the last decades, many countries experienced huge modifications in work organisations. These changes made people to move from traditional sectors to the tertiary sectors and non-industrial indoor working environments. Non-industrial indoor workplaces are characterised by a new concept of building, with a new structure, new materials, forced ventilation, tight construction and a potential exposure to new risk factors for work-related asthma, such as new chemicals and biological agents able to cause or exacerbate asthma. The actual scientific evidence suggests an increased risk of asthma among workers exposed to cleaning agents in indoor working environment and moulds in damp buildings. Also volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and environmental tobacco smoke could be considered triggers of asthma, even if their role is still under debate. Because of the increasing numbers of subjects working in non-industrial indoor environments and the scientific evidence of an increased risk of asthma in indoor environment, there is a need of public health intervention towards the prevention of work-related asthma, also in this specific setting
EAACI position paper: skin prick testing in the diagnosis of occupational type I allergies.
No full textAbstract
Skin prick testing (SPT) in combination with the clinical history of the patient is one important step in the diagnosis of IgE-mediated occupational allergies. However, skin test performance is related to the quality of allergen extracts. The present consensus document was prepared by an EAACI Task Force consisting of an expert panel of allergologists and occupational physicians from Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Austria, and Poland. All members of the panel were also involved in the data collection within the European multicentre study STADOCA (Standard diagnosis for occupational allergy). The aim of this Task Force was the assessment of the quality of commercially available SPT solutions for selected occupational allergens under standardized procedure conditions in different European centres and institutes of Occupational Medicine. The data evaluation shows a wide variability among SPT solutions and also indicates that the sensitivity of several SPT solutions is low. Therefore, improvement and standardization of SPT solutions for occupational allergens is highly recommended. Clinical practitioners should also not presume that their SPT solutions are fully reliable. The main objective of the document is to issue consensus suggestions for the use of SPT with occupational allergens based on the European multicentre study STADOCA, on existing scientific evidence and the expertise of a panel of allergologists
Glass cleaning sprays, latex and smoking are determinants of asthma and rhinitis in cleaning workers
No full textIndoor occupational risk-factor in non-industrial settings and work-related asthma. A systematic review
No full textIndoor occupational risk-factor in non-industrial settings and work-related asthma. A systematic review
No full textpromozione della salute nei luoghi di lavoro: fattori di rischio cardiovascolare nei lavoratori del settore metallurgico- risultati preliminari
No full text
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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