Asthma and occupational activity

Occupational asthma is largely documented in the recent medical literature but proposed criteria for its definition remain somewhat ambiguous. The main objective of this discussion is to point out the difficulties raised by individual diagnosis and collective actions related to occupational asthma. The main problems are: 1. Ambiguous definitions of occupational asthma; 2. Insufficient understanding of the different circumstances of diagnosis; 3. Difficulty in objective characterization of etiological agents due to the limitations of diagnostic procedures and interactions between agents; 4. Impact of the social consequences of diagnosis for the patient; 5. Limitations of prevention in the workplace. The coordinated efforts of the French Society of Pneumology and the French Society of Occupational Medicine should help provide answers to these problems.