Work related symptoms, sensitisation, and estimated exposure in workers not previously exposed to flour

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cullinan P ; Lowson D ; McDonald JC ; Nieuwenhuijsen MJ ; Sandiford C ; Taylor-AJ Newman ; Tee RD ; Venables KM
• Description:
  A longitudinal study of a group of workers at high risk of occupational asthma was undertaken in an effort to study the relation between sensitization or allergic symptoms and exposure to aeroallergens. The workers studied were employed in the bakery industry and three large modern British bakeries, a flour packing factory, and three mills where wheat was milled and flour packed. Several symptoms were reported by questionnaire including chest tightness, wheeze or difficulty in breathing, itching of the eyes or nose, running or blockage of the nose or sneezing, and itchy skin rash. Forty six (14%) of the employees reported work related chest symptoms, 92 (29%) eye/nose symptoms, and 27 (9%) skin symptoms. Positive skin tests to mixed flour were recorded in 17 (5%) subjects and to alpha-amylase in 18 (5%). Fifty eight (17%) had a positive test to L-destructor. The frequency of new work related symptoms tended to increase with intensity of exposure at the time of the survey. Workers with new work related chest or skin symptoms were more likely to have moved between exposure intensity categories during employment at the site than those without new work related symptoms of any sort. Most subjects with positive skin tests to specific antigens reported no symptoms. All new work related symptoms were more common among smokers but there was little difference between atopic and nonatopic subjects. Atopy was significantly and independently associated with a positive response to each of the three specific allergens, but not with any new work related symptom. Smoking was not independently related to either symptoms or to a positive skin test. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dust Hypersensitivity Lung Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin

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• Keywords:
  Airborne-dusts Allergic-reactions Bakery-workers Bronchial-asthma Lung-irritants Milling-industry Occupational-exposure Plant-dusts Respiratory-system-disorders Skin-exposure
• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  51
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00222928
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 1994 Sep; 51(9):579-583
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19900930
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4789e274061534c3fe02f5d85bfa7c5bf056f2f40b12839000344d52b62ae1b94b7c1d94cd0e879de917f7d239cee1db168682313396d22c7f44bef9b43461cb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205893/cdc_205893_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 897.10 KB ]