title: [Occupational asthma: an underestimated pathology ].
abstract: The occupational allergens are estimated to determine 1 out 10 cases of asthma in adult workers. In Italy very low cases are compensated by the Italian National Insurance Against Professional Disease (INAIL), that legally recognized 90 cases in 1996 and only 9 cases in 2000. A real negative trend in making diagnosis and compensating workers for occupational asthma is due to three main causes. (1) Delayed diagnosis. Lack of protocols or lack of accuracy in applying them. Scarce collaboration of the general practitioners. (2) Unsatisfactory bill on compensation that misunderstands moderate asthma under drug control and asthma with scarce symptoms and occasional therapy. (3) Lack of prevention in industrial medicine. Occupational doctors play a role more relevant in legal activities than in clinical ones.
authors.affiliation: Centro di Allergologia Ambientale, Dipartimento di Medicina del Lavoro, Ospedale Maggíore Policlinico-Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Previdi
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009787:Occupational Medicine / Q000191:economics; D014942:Workers' Compensation