Epidemiology of Occupational Asthma in Tunisia: Results of a First National Study

Abstract

Introduction: Apart from its increasingly important frequency, occupational asthma (OA) has become the most important cause of occupational respiratory disorders in developed countries. The number of etiological agents continues to grow following the constant introduction of new harmful substances in industry. Objectives: Determine the prevalence and incidence of OA in our country, the socio-occupational characteristics of asthmatics, and study the forensic and social impact of such pathology. Material and Methods: An exhaustive retrospective epidemiological study was conducted in Tunisia about charts of occupational asthma cases recognized by the competent commissions of the National Medical Care Fund (CNAM) during the period ranging from January 1 st 2000 to December 31 st 2008. Results: 361 occupational asthma cases, accounting for a prevalence of 7.17% of all occupational diseases, were recognized during the period of the study. Occupational asthma annual incidence was estimated to be 24.42 cases per 1000000 workers. Our study population was mainly women with a sex ratio of 0.86. More than a half (57.6%) of recognized OA cases were working in the textile industry sector. Concerning the asthmatics' professional career, most of recognized OA cases (n = 225 i.e. 70.6% of cases) kept their jobs, whereas 58 patients did not. The professional career was linked to gender with a job loss that is 1.79 time more important in asthmatic women. Conclusion: The incidence of occupational asthma in Tunisia is comparable * Corresponding author.M. Maher et al. 28with that found in other Mediterranean countries. A rigorous and adequate prevention is necessary and allows reducing the importance of this occupational pathology and its serious consequences.

Occupational Rhinitis and Asthma in the Textile Sector of the Central Region of Tunisia

“…In Tunisia, OA occurs frequently among workers in the textile sector, which is a highly developed sector in the region of the Tunisian center. OR was associated with asthma in 40.7% of cases [10].…”

“…Concerning the textile sector, several studies have cal data on the prevalence of OA and OAR are not available since most of the studies conducted in Tunisia express the prevalence of the pathology within a particular sector, or a group exposed to the same etiologic agent. A retrospective descriptive study of all cases of asthma reported in the private sector in the region of center of Tunisia and recognized as occupational disease during a nine-year period (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) showed that the association between asthma and allergic rhinitis was found in 42.9% of cases [10].…”

“…The cumulative annual incidence of OA was estimated at 24.42 cases/million workers in the private sector in Tunisia [10], but no study had assessed the incidence of OR. In our study, we found an incidence of 42 cases/ year/100,000 workers in the private textile sector in the Tunisian Central Region.…”

“…The socio-professional consequences of these diseases are serious especially as it affects active and often young subjects, and persists in a considerable number of cases, even after cessation of exposure to the risk [10]. Table 3 shows the distribution of the patients according to their jobs in the textile sector.…”