Occupational Asthma among Electronics Workers: A Meta-analysis

Introduction Occupational Asthma (OA), the common work related occupational respiratory disease in developed countries, is “a disease characterized by variable air flow limitation and/or airway hyper responsiveness due to causes and conditions attributable to a particular occupational environment and not to stimuli encountered outside the workplace”. It can be immunologic (hypersensitivity-induced) or non immunologic (irritant-induced). Objective Understand why electronic workers have a high risk of developing occupational asthma. Method The team reviewed the literature of the last 40 years using a number of search engines including the Pubmed, Medline, and Highwire to search for “Asthma” and “colophony” among electronic workers. Results Many studies found a prevalence of OA related to the colophony exposure. Some studies investigating the physiopathology found that colophony was not immunogenic ex-vivo but could be oxidized in-vivo to induce an immune response. OA is frequent in electronics workers caused by colophony fumes, a derivative of pine resin. The mechanism by which colophony is associated with Asthma is still not clear. Conclusion OA is frequently found in electronics workers, caused by colophony fumes, a derivative of pine resin. The mechanism by which colophony fumes are associated with asthma is still not clear. Many studies found a prevalence of occupational asthma related to colophony exposure. Some studies investigating the physiopathology found that colophony was not immunogenic ex-vivo but could be oxidized in-vivo to induce an immune response. Effective control measures, personal protective equipment, and health surveillance can play a major role in reducing the incidence of occupational disease.