Prospective epidemiologic evaluation of laboratory animal allergy among university employees
✍ Scribed by Laurence J. Fuortes; LeAnn Weih; Paul Pomrehn; Peter S. Thorne; Martin Jones; Leon Burmeister; James A. Merchant
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 36 KB
- Volume
- 32
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0271-3586
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Objectives: Evaluation of incidence and risk factors for development of laboratory animal allergy (LAA) among new hires previously unexposed to lab animals.
Methods: Baseline, 6-month and yearly follow-up, questionnaires, pulmonary functions, and methacholine challenges were collected from 98 never-before occupationally exposed and 90 control laboratory researchers. The two groups were followed between 6 and 36 months.
Results: At baseline, there were no differences in atopy, pulmonary functions, or methacholine reactivity between the two groups. The incidence of work-related asthma was comparable in the two groups, approximately 2.5% at 6 months and 4.5% at 24 months. The rate of decline in FEV 1 was statistically significantly greater in the animal-exposed than nonanimal-exposed workers, and animal-exposed smokers' FEV 1 declined significantly more rapidly than any other groups'.
Conclusion: Despite the low incidence of laboratory-animal allergy and work-related asthma in this group, this study corroborates previously described interaction between smoking and animal exposure.