Occupational Lung Disease: When Should I Think of It and Why Is It Important?

Details

• Personal Author:
  de la Hoz RE ; Feary J ; Huntley CC ; Lindstrom I ; Suojalehto H
• Description:
  Exposure to toxic inhalants in the workplace has the potential to cause (in susceptible individuals) almost any major type of lung disease, such as asthma, COPD and interstitial lung diseases. Patients with occupational lung disease will often present to or will be managed by respiratory specialists without training in occupational respiratory medicine, and patients (or their clinicians) may not identify a link between their disease and their current or a past job. Without an awareness of the range of different occupational lung diseases that exist, their similarity to their non-occupational counterparts, and without directed questioning, these conditions may go unidentified. Patients with occupational lung diseases are often in lower paid work and are disproportionally affected by health inequality. Both clinical and socioeconomic outcomes generally improve if cases are identified early. This allows appropriate advice to be given about the risks of ongoing exposure, clinical management, occupational mobility and, in some cases, eligibility for legal compensation. As respiratory professionals, it is important that these cases are not missed, and if needed, are discussed with a physician with specialised expertise. Here we describe some of the most common occupational lung diseases and outline the diagnostic and treatment approach. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Diagnosis Inhalation Exposure Lung Diseases Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Clinical Diagnosis Inhalants Lung Disease Medical Treatment Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure
• ISSN:
  1810-6838
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068130
• Citation:
  Breathe 2023 Jun; 19(2):230002
• Contact Point Address:
  Rafael E. de la Hoz, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
• Email:
  Rafael.delaHoz@mssm.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20180701
• Source Full Name:
  Breathe
• End Date:
  20210630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e510d0543ccedd524dfcb4d54dc91733cbc756677f365f8f77a2ab35824eebdfc2c97fd5dd0af25ad4c0fd263976cdeb60a5d353e85fcfd99661c4ddff0def61
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230345/cdc_230345_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 547.51 KB ]