ABSTRACT
This is a case report of a 63-year-old woman, who had worked as a laboratory animal keeper for 23 years. She developed increasing symptoms of rhinitis, coughing and shortness of breath and was diagnosed and treated for COPD based on her smoking history and spirometry results. She went on sick leave due to dyspnoea, and after testing she was diagnosed with occupational allergic asthma from rodents. Her lung function was at this point significantly reduced. Occupational asthma is common, and occupational causes of respiratory symptoms should always be taken into consideration when assessing patients in the working population.
Subject(s)
Asthma, Occupational , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive , Rhinitis , Animals , Animals, Laboratory , Asthma, Occupational/diagnosis , Asthma, Occupational/etiology , Female , Humans , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/diagnosis , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/etiology , SpirometryABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between self-reported physical workload and neck trouble (NT) in twins. Additionally, to explore whether the relationship between physical workload and NT is influenced by genetic factors. METHODS: A twin control study was performed within a population-based, cross-sectional questionnaire study using 3,208 monozygotic (MZ) and same-sexed dizygotic (DZ) twins aged 19-70. Twin pairs discordant for self-reported NT during the past year ("Any NT") were included. Self-reported physical workload in four categories was used as exposure ("sitting," "sitting and walking," "light physical," and "heavy physical" work). Paired analyses including conditional logistic regression were made for all participants and for each sex, and MZ and DZ pairs separately. RESULTS: No marked associations between physical workload and NT were seen. A moderate risk elevation in "heavy physical" work was seen in DZ men (odds ratio 2.3, 95% confidence intervals 1.3-4.0), but not in MZ men or the MZ or DZ women. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in some degree supported that "heavy physical" work is a determinant of NT, perhaps only in men, but hardly of any greater importance. The different results between DZ and MZ men suggest that genetic factors influence the relationship between physical workload and NT.