title: Occupation and COPD: a brief review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review summarizes the scientific literature relevant to occupational risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  
  
  METHODS
  This review emphasizes recent work in the field, while placing this in the context of two previous systematic reviews of the subject.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both the earlier summaries of the literature estimated that the population attributable risk percent (PAR%) of COPD linked to occupational exposures is approximately 15%. More recent studies also strongly support the association between workplace exposures and COPD. Among never smokers, the PAR% for work-related factors may approach 40%. Emerging data also indicate that occupational exposures, at a minimum, are additive to smoking-associated risk of COPD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PAR% for work-related COPD is at least 15%. Scientific significance. The consistency, strength, and plausibility of these data support a causal relationship between occupational exposures and COPD.
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA. paul.blanc@ucsf.edu
authors: Paul D
authors: PD
authors: Blanc
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009790:Occupations; D011379:Prognosis; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016019:Survival Analysis