Occupational asthma in the furniture industry: is it due to styrene?
BACKGROUND
Styrene, a volatile monomer, has been reported as a cause of occupational asthma in a few case reports.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the risk for asthma in relation to exposure to styrene in a large number of workers.


METHODS
A total of 47 workers with a history of exposure to styrene were included in the study. To establish whether asthma was present, each patient underwent a clinical interview, pulmonary function testing and bronchial challenge with methacholine. Specific bronchial challenges with styrene and serial peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurement at home and at work were carried out in subjects with a diagnosis of asthma to evaluate the relationship between their asthma and exposure to styrene in the workplace.


RESULTS
Among the 47 subjects, 5 workers had given a history of work-related symptoms, and 3 of them had a positive methacholine challenge test. Specific bronchial challenges with styrene and serial PEF measurement were subsequently carried out in these 3 subjects. Although provocation tests with styrene were negative in the 3 workers, 1 worker had PEF rate records compatible with occupational asthma.


CONCLUSIONS
We established one patient with occupational asthma from a group of people who have excessive styrene exposure. This finding may be suggestive but is not conclusive about the causative role of styrene in occupational asthma. Since styrene is a frequently used substance in the furniture industry, it is worth performing further studies to investigate the relationship between styrene and occupational asthma.
Department of Pulmonary Disease, Ankara University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey. onerferda@hotmail.com
Ferda
F
Oner
Dilşad
D
Mungan
Numan
N
Numanoglu
Yavuz
Y
Demirel
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D020058:Styrene / Q000009:adverse effects*
D020058:Styrene