Return to work among patients with occupational asthma

Pulmonary disorders are among the most frequent complaints of subjects in their working ages and may lead to considerable sickness absences and temporary or permanent disability. This study was conducted to follow subjects with probable occupational asthma referring to occupational medicine clinic of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. This was a follow-up study on 95 workers with probable diagnosis of occupational asthma who were followed for 2 years after diagnosis regarding return to work. Data were analyzed by SPSS (ver. 20) using T-test and non-parametric tests. Ninety five workers with probable diagnosis of occupational asthma entered the study. After 2 years follow-up most subjects (82.11%) returned to their previous job. The results of spirometry and respiratory symptoms were significantly associated with return to work but, no significant association was revealed between age and job experience with return to work. The finding of this study showed that a considerable number of workers with occupational asthma remain in their previous job regardless of their symptoms.