What is Occupational Asthma?

Occupational asthma (OA) is a type of asthma that occurs due to inhalation of various types of irritants, chemical fumes, dust, and other toxic substances at the workplace. The type of toxic insult varies with the occupation. People susceptible to allergies are more prone to suffer from OA. Management essentially involves avoiding the incriminating agent. Medical treatment is the same as for general asthma.

Types of Occupational Asthma

OA can be categorized into two types – immunological and non-immunological:

Immunological OA: This type of OA occurs due to an immunological reaction and is mediated by a type of antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE). Immunological OA exhibits a latency period. It can be caused by both high molecular weight (HMW) and low molecular weight (LMW) agents.
Non-immunological OA: This occurs due to acute toxic injury by single or multiple agents. It is characterized by a sudden onset, without any latency period and can give rise to a condition called Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS). It is caused by toxic chemicals and other irritants.

Prevalence of Occupational Asthma

Asthma affects 5-10 percent of people worldwide, of which approximately 2-15 percent is occupational in origin. The prevalence of OA varies with the type of profession, but the data is scanty, which is currently available for only three categories of occupations:

Animal lab personnel: 8-12 percent
Bakers: 7-9 percent
Healthcare personnel: 1.4 percent

High Risk Occupations

The workers having the riskiest occupations and the corresponding agent(s) that they are exposed to are tabulated below:

Occupation	Agent
Bakers, millers	Wheat flour
Animal handlers, animal lab personnel, veterinarians	Dander, fur, hair
Healthcare personnel	Natural rubber latex, drugs
Metal workers, welders	Chromium, nickel, platinum
Carpenters	Wood dust
Hairdressers, barbers	Hair dyes
Cooks	Milk / egg powder, fish (herring, crab)
Farmers	Insecticides, pesticides
Plastic / adhesive / foam / textile industry workers, spray painters	Chemicals
Laundry workers	Detergents
Window cleaners, road / chimney sweepers	Dust, dirt, smoke

Neuroscience for Kids - (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html)
What the Stroop Effect Reveals About Our Minds - (https://lesley.edu/article/what-the-stroop-effect-reveals-about-our-minds)
The Emotional Stroop Effect Is Modulated by the Biological Salience and Motivational Intensity Inherent in Stimuli - (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03023/full)
Numerical stroop effect - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15058867/)
The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4993290/)
The Stroop Effect - (https://www.simplypsychology.org/stroop-effect.html)
Ask an Expert: How does Stroop Effect apply to real life situations? - (https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/ask-an-expert/viewtopic.php?t=6139)
Stroop Effect - (https://conductscience.com/portfolio/stroop-effect/#:~:text=Stroop%20effect%20has%20many%20practical,bipolar%20disorder%2C%20or%20major%20depression.)
Stroop Test - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/stroop-test)
Clinical Application of the Modified Stroop Test to Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder - (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47792734_Clinical_Application_of_the_Modified_Stroop_Test_to_Children_with_Attention_DeficitHyperactivity_Disorder)