The aim of this study was to describe changes in employment and income following a diagnosis of occupational asthma, and to determine what factors might affect these changes.Two hundred and nine patients with occupational asthma were reviewed on average 3.1 yrs after the diagnosis had been made. They were contacted by telephone or were sent a self-administered questionnaire by post. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to determine which variables were associated with loss of employment after the diagnosis.At the time of review, 44% of patients had left their previous job and 25% were currently unemployed. Remarkably, 32% remained exposed to the offending agents in the same job. Forty six percent of the patients had suffered a reduction of income (84% of those who had left their employer versus 19% of those still employed in the same company (p<0.001)). Claims for compensation, size of the company, level of education, and age at the time of diagnosis were significantly associated with a risk for becoming unemployed or having a new employer after the diagnosis of occupational asthma.Occupational asthma results in severe socioeconomic consequences. The French compensation system for occupational asthma should be revised, as the criteria currently used to determine compensation for this disease largely underestimate the social and occupational damages.

Aims: To investigate psychiatric disorders, somatic health, and professional effects in French train drivers having experienced a ''person under train'' accident, and somatic health and professional effects. Methods: A total of 202 train drivers were evaluated several times: immediately after the event, three months later, and one, two, and three years later. These drivers were compared with 186 train drivers not exposed to that psychotraumatic shock. The evaluations relied primarily on the GHQ-28 and MINI questionnaires. Results: In the exposed group, at the first evaluation, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress was 4%; scores >5 on the GHQ-28 were significantly higher than in the non-exposed group (32% versus 6%), for both the overall result and three sub-scores (somatic symptoms, anxiety and sleep, and psychosocial functioning). All these differences disappeared within a year. Vulnerability factors concerned prior traumas, acute and lasting life events, and the particular occupational situation where the driver is not accompanied but drives the train away alone in the aftermath of the accident. Over 95% of subjects had no short, medium, or long term impairment of their occupational fitness. Conclusions: Most of the psycho-behavioural disorders were observed in the immediate aftermath of the accident and disappeared within a year. The driver's occupational future does not seem to be affected by the ''person under train'' accident. Consideration of a traumatic accident as a job related risk and close psychological support of drivers after an accident probably increase the subject's ability to recover from the event.

Most studies on asbestos-related diseases are based on chest radiographs, and dose-response relationships are still controversial. The aim of this study was to describe the most relevant parameters of asbestos exposure linked to pleural plaques and asbestosis diagnosed by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT).A large screening programme including systematic HRCT examinations was organised from 2003 to 2005 in France for formerly asbestos-exposed workers. The time since first exposure (TSFE), level, duration and cumulative exposure to asbestos were used in adjusted unconditional logistic regression to model the relationships of the two diseases.Analysis of a population of 5,545 subjects demonstrated that TSFE (p,0.0001) and cumulative exposure (p50.02) (or level, depending on the models used), were independently associated with the frequency of pleural plaques. Only cumulative exposure (p,0.0001) or level of exposure (p50.02) were significantly associated with asbestosis. All trend tests were significant for these parameters.To date and to our knowledge, this study is the largest programme based on HRCT for the screening of asbestos-exposed subjects. Both time-response and dose-response relationships were demonstrated for pleural plaques, while only dose-response relationships were demonstrated for asbestosis. These parameters must be included in the definition of high-risk populations for HRCT-based screening programmes.

Aims: To compare the prevalence and incidence of respiratory symptoms and lung function values between hairdressing apprentices and office apprentices. Methods: A total of 322 hairdressing apprentices and 277 office apprentices (controls) were studied. Two cross sectional surveys were conducted in 1994 and 1996/97 with longitudinal follow up for a subgroup of apprentices (191 hairdressing apprentices and 189 office apprentices). Results: In the initial phase, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms was significantly lower among hairdressing apprentices than among office apprentices. Lung function test results showed significantly higher values for hairdressing apprentices. Non-specific bronchial reactivity was similar in the two groups. In the final phase, results for respiratory symptoms were similar. The incidence of respiratory symptoms was not significantly different between hairdressing apprentices and office apprentices. Subjects who dropped out had lower values for FVC and FEV 1 in the initial phase than those who completed the final phase. There was a significant deterioration of FEV 1 and FEF 25-75% in hairdressing apprentices compared to office apprentices. There was a link between atopy and the incidence of most of the respiratory symptoms (day/night cough, wheezing, dyspnoea, mucosal hyperresponsiveness) and between smoking and the incidence of bronchial hyperreactivity. There was no significant correlation between change in lung function tests and specific hairdressing activities reported at the end of the apprenticeship or with environmental working conditions in hairdressing salons. Conclusions: Although a healthy worker effect can be suspected, results showed a significant deterioration of baseline values of lung function tests in the hairdressing apprentice group. However, no clear link was shown between change in lung function tests and specific parameters of occupational activities.

Background It is uncertain whether isolated pleural plaques cause functional impairment. Objective To analyse the relationship between isolated pleural plaques confirmed by CT scanning and lung function in subjects with occupational exposure to asbestos. Methods The study population consisted of 2743 subjects presenting with no parenchymal interstitial abnormalities on the high-resolution CT (HRCT) scan. Asbestos exposure was evaluated by calculation of an individual cumulative exposure index (CEI). Each subject underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and HRCT scanning. Variables were adjusted for age, smoking status, body mass index, CEI to asbestos and the centres in which the pulmonary function tests were conducted. Results All functional parameters studied were within normal limits for subjects presenting with isolated pleural plaques and for those presenting with no pleuropulmonary abnormalities. However, isolated parietal and/or diaphragmatic pleural plaques were associated with a significant decrease in total lung capacity (TLC) (98.1% predicted in subjects with pleural plaques vs 101.2% in subjects free of plaques, p¼0.0494), forced vital capacity (FVC) (96.6% vs 100.4%, p<0.001) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) (97.9% vs 101.9%, p¼0.0032). In contrast, no significant relationship was observed between pleural plaques and FEV 1 /FVC ratio, forced expiratory flow at 25e75% FVC and residual volume. A significant correlation was found between the extent of pleural plaques and the reduction in FVC and TLC, whereas plaque thickness was not related to functional impairment. Conclusions The results show a relationship between isolated parietal and/or diaphragmatic pleural plaques and a trend towards a restrictive pattern, although the observed decrease in FVC and TLC is unlikely to be of real clinical relevance for the majority of subjects in this series.

Better knowledge and understanding of occupational causes of haematological malignancies are necessary to improve their prevention and compensation.

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