Non-Industrial Indoor Environments And Work-Related Asthma

Work-related asthma is one of the most relevant work-related diseases worldwide, causing a high socio-economical burden. In the last decades, many countries experienced huge modifications in work organisations. These changes made people to move from traditional sectors to the tertiary sectors and non-industrial indoor working environments. Non-industrial indoor workplaces are characterised by a new concept of building, with a new structure, new materials, forced ventilation, tight construction and a potential exposure to new risk factors for work-related asthma, such as new chemicals and biological agents able to cause or exacerbate asthma. The actual scientific evidence suggests an increased risk of asthma among workers exposed to cleaning agents in indoor working environment and moulds in damp buildings. Also volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and environmental tobacco smoke could be considered triggers of asthma, even if their role is still under debate. Because of the increasing numbers of subjects working in non-industrial indoor environments and the scientific evidence of an increased risk of asthma in indoor environment, there is a need of public health intervention towards the prevention of work-related asthma, also in this specific setting.