What occupation causes COPD the most?

[the bear]

The ethnic discussion raises a question in my mind that your work history may have a lot to do with contributing to the severity of your COPD. What did you do at work and for how long? These are questions a good doctor should be asking you. There is no doubt in my mind that our lung health in the past has an important bearing on our future lung health.

Yes, I admit I smoked for far too many years but what about the people that I worked with? I can remember all too clearly seeing a friend that I used to work with for the last time alive, struggling with an oxygen tank and gasping for breath, at a local mall.
We buried him within a year of his retirement.

He never smoked in his life.

We were heavy equipment operators for the Department of National Defense. As such we had a very dirty work environment full of dust, dirt, diesel exaust smoke. As a matter of fact I just got a settlement from our Workers Compensation board for hearing loss because of constant workplace excessive noise pollution.

What was your job?? Do you think it may have affected you lung health??

[Blossom/Jackie W.]

Bear; I'm really quite impressed by this thread that you started....

It's a known fact that certain environments etc contributes to COPD as does childhood illnesses beyond, or in conjunction with, smoking. Surprisingly most Dr's don't ASK your work background or youth health. Strange really.

Me; beyond smoking, I worked around MEK (methylethyl ketone), DBE (diabasic ester); isocynates; for a number of years plus a lot of pest sprays in the south AND, as a child I had pneumonia, whooping coup, bronchitis every time the seasons changed.

[chrisw]

There has for many years been discussion as to whether people related things are "Nature or Nurture" - genetics or environment. My father, who was at the top of his profession as a doctor in public health, would always answer "Both"
In other words what we are is always a combination of the genes and our environment!
Growing up in a house where both parents smoked heavily (until the smoking statistics started to come out in 1956 - then Dad quit!)
Growing up in London in the 1940's and 1950's (the original London smog - smoke/fog)
Six months in a machine shop where you couldn't see the other side of the building for the cutting oil fumes.
Three years working in and around the production areas in an aluminum smelter before they changed to a less polluting process.
Eight years in a sawmill.
Twenty years in steel and pipe mills (which also included handling chlorine in the water treatment areas - handled a couple of leaks)
Living for twelve years in the U.S. mid-West (I am very allergic to gag-weed).
Oh Yes! By the way I also smoked!

When someone asks me whether my COPD was caused by smoking I tell them just what I told you! I agree with what my Dad used to say "It is both genetics and environment"
If smoking were the only thing, then every smoker would have COPD.

[chrisw]

Sorry - that should have read rag-weed not gag-weed. Slight Freudian slip there!
Chris

[Blossom/Jackie W.]

Chris...I kinda like the slip.....

I've been in a study since last December wherein they're not only tracking the progression of the disease for 3 years (or try to) but it's also a gene study. I think this area has been overlooked way too long.

[morningstar]

I believe our work place does play a big part in our lung problems today. Since 1974 till 2003 I was either in Beauty or Barber Shops where hair had any and all kinds of Chemicals applied to it. I would cough and carry on even then. The ones I were closest to were the perms that could really send you for air. Over the years they got better and WV outlawed Barbers doing Perms. But that didn't stop the others in the shop from doing them and the smell did carry. They went to work in my own shop and that stopped some of it. But I found I could not use hair spray I would have a bad reaction to it. I would have to ask my customer to please step to the other side and spray there hair. And yes men used more spray than most women.
Then you have the things you have to clean with and liquid you have to soak things in so it all added up. I was sick alot with infections they called bronchitics.
I had whooping cough when I was young. And most night my mom doing what she thought help faithfully sprayed my pillow with something the call con jest aid. To clear the head and nose so I could sleep.
Then last I smoked almost 4 packs of cigarettes a day come later years from about the same time I started cutting hair.

Did all the smells and fumes work on my lungs yes they did. But, cigarettes didn't cause it all.

[larrynz]

Other risk factors for COPD include the following:
• asthma (yes)
• hereditary deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin, an enzyme involved in lung function (no)
• indoor air pollution, such as smoke from home cooking or home heating fuels (yes)
• low birth weight (no)
• occupational dusts and chemicals (welding fumes, dust from engineering work, coal dust)
• outdoor air pollution, such as motor vehicle exhaust fumes (born in the east end of London, worked in the motor industry)
• severe childhood respiratory infections (bronchitis, whooping cough, diphtheria, asthma)

The bits in brackets are my replies.

[the bear]

Hey blossom you worked with a real witches brew of deadly chemicals. All that you mentioned were hazardous but in googling isocyanates the US Department of Labour www.osha.gov It states and I quote "Health effects of isocyanate exposure include irritation of skin and mucous membranes, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing. Isocynates include compounds classified as potential human carcinogens and known to cause cancer in animals. The main effects of hazardous exposures are occupational asthma and other lung problems as well as irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and skin."
If you were not informed or made aware of these dangers then your employer may be held liable. They probably were well aware of the dangers. Just as cigarette manufacturers were aware of the dangers of smoking. Now what. bear.

[the bear]

Our native people are at great risk because of their isolation. They tend to smoke more and drink more than others probably boredom has a lot to do with it and poverty must take partial blame as well.

Some other hazardous occupations, fire fighters, farmers, bakers, construction workers, hair dressers, cosmeticians, paint and body shop workers, painters, loggers etc, etc, etc, the list is almost endless even office workers exposed to photocopy chemicals and fumes from toners.

Even though our government denies it, the very air we breathe is getting to be hazardous to our health especially on smog alert days. So what are we going to do about it???

[larrynz]

I tried to find the item below the other day when this subject was first posted, better late than never.

Extrinsic Factors in COPD Pathogenesis
Occupational exposures. Occupational exposures play an important role in COPD development and progression.9,13 Occupationally related COPD can occur in either the presence or the absence of agents known to induce occupational asthma, and it is useful to look at these exposure classifications separately.
More than 200 agents are known to cause asthma in the workplace; a partial list is shown in Table 4.32 Continued exposure to occupational asthmogenics, such as plicatic acid, grain dust, cotton dust, or toluene diisocyanate, has been shown to result in irreversible airflow limitation.33-35 These exposures can be modified by other factors, such as genetics or smoking.
Table 4—Selected Occupational Agents Associated With Asthma and COPD*
Agent Occupation
Asthma
Grain dust Grain handling
Toluene diisocyanate Foam manufacturing, plastics
Trimellitic anhydride Plastics, epoxy resins
Platinum salts Platinum refining
Western red cedar (plicatic acid) Logging, lumber processing
Colophony Electronics manufacturing
Natural latex Health care
Pigeons Pigeon breeding
Crabs Crab production/processing
Trypsin Pharmaceutical processing
Bacillus subtilis Detergent manufacturing
COPD
Cadmium Metal processing
Coal dust Mining
Silica dust Mining
Welding fumes Steelworkers, shipbuilding
Chlorine gas Pulp mill workers
Popcorn flavoring Popcorn packers
*Modified from Rabatin and Cowl32 and Hendrick.13
COPD can also occur with occupational exposures not associated with asthma development. Cadmium is unique in that it is the one occupational agent that causes emphysema.36 Other occupational exposures linked to the development of COPD include mineral dusts, welding fumes,13 chlorine gas, and, most recently, popcorn flavoring.37
High-dose irritant exposures (ie, fire smoke, chlorine gas) that cause a life-threatening acute pulmonary toxicity may result in reactive airways dysfunction syndrome or bronchiolitis obliterans.38
Air pollution. Both outdoor and indoor air pollutants can cause exacerbations of existing lung disease. The primary outdoor air pollutants of interest include ozone, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide; important indoor pollutants include environmental tobacco smoke, wood smoke, and nitrogen oxides.
Recent longitudinal studies have suggested an association between exposure to ozone, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide and decreased lung function in a population of never-smokers.14 This effect was increased in subjects whose parents had a history of respiratory disease (asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, hay fever), suggesting an additional genetic influence.
Exposure to indoor air pollutants can frequently result in higher exposures than one would obtain from outdoor exposures. Tobacco smoke, wood smoke, and cooking fumes have all been associated with the development of COPD.29,39 As was demonstrated with outdoor exposures, indoor exposures also result in more COPD among people with genetic risk factors.40
Pediatric exposures. Impaired lung function, poor lung growth in utero, and premature or accelerated declines in lung function during childhood can eventually lead to COPD or other respiratory diseases during adulthood.39,41 Important exposures associated with impaired lung growth in children include tobacco smoke exposure and lower respiratory infections.11,39,41
Infections. Lower respiratory tract infections, during both childhood and adulthood, are implicated in the pathogenesis of COPD and have important roles in COPD exacerbation The main etiologic agents of adult COPD-related infections include Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus.42 Psuedomonas aeruginosa has more recently been identified as a component in severe COPD cases.42 Adenovirus and other common respiratory viral pathogens are also found.43 It is not clear whether respiratory infections are more important in COPD development in those who have never smoked.
Nutrition. Nutritional factors are probably important in the development and progression of COPD. Antioxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C, and N-acetylcysteine have been found to be beneficial in decreasing COPD exacerbations in some studies.44,45 Retinoid use has been associated with neoalveolarization.46 Vitamin C and flavonoids have been associated with improved lung function.18 Fish oils have been shown to be associated with better lung function.47 Poor nutritional status has also been implicated in accelerated disease decline. Weight loss, cachexia, and muscle weakness are associated with increased oxidative stress, increased TNF-á levels, and a worsened prognosis.48
Prevention and Intervention
Although COPD is predominantly a disease of smokers, it does occur in never-smokers and former smokers. In that setting, the most important COPD intervention, smoking cessation, is not possible. A key part of intervening in these patients is early detection and treatment. Patients with asthma are at risk for developing COPD, and both monitoring of their lung function status and aggressive treatment of their underlying condition are merited. Eliminating occupational or avocational exposures that can worsen lung function is also critical. Finally, because of the strong familial component of COPD, evaluating children and siblings of never-smoking patients who develop COPD may provide opportunities for early intervention.

[stargazer]

This information is very interesting. One doctor did actually ask about my partners occupation because of how fast it seemed to progress. (yes he too was a smoker) I have never even heard of hereditary deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin, an enzyme involved in lung function. I have a lot of learning to do........

[LindaNY]

Very interesting thread.
I can't blame my lung disease on my occupation , but do blame most of it on my smoking and asthma.

My work environment ( hospitals) did expose me to many sick people, so I had my fair share of colds and bronchitis every year.

[morningstar]

By writing what I was exposed to I didn' t mean to a lay all the blame on thatl I believe and always will that cigarette was the deciding factor in my health problems. What makes me so angry is I knew it and didn't stop. Stupid on legs.

Happy Trails

[bobbioh]

Here I go. I had strep throat as a child all the time. Had many colds and flus, Never could run allot like the other kids. Was 6 lbs 6 oz at birth. My Mom and Dad both smoked. I started smoking at 14 heavy and smoked until I was 28 Then I got post operative Phenomena. Was dx ed at 28 with moderate asthma. From there I gained 40 lbs was on steroids for years.Stopped smoking for 6 yrs. Got allot better. Started smoking again for 4 yrs have no quit for 2 yrs again. I worked in a nursing home for yrs. A bakery with no ventilation for 9 months. And cleaned Hotel rooms for 8 yrs. I think Smoking and genetics helped me get it I think. bobbioh

[the bear]

Wonderful post Larry. My suspicions confirmed. bear.

[Joyce7]

For me I think it was several things. I was born premature and as a child had frequent cases of asthmatic bronchitis. Both my parents smoked also, so I grew up around smoke. My father died at the age of 62 from copd and he worked around airplane fumes with no mask. I have worked around different chemicals. All these things, I feel sure, have contributed to the severity of my copd, but I think cigarettes are the main cause. I'll never know but all I can do now is take what I have and try to be as healthy as I can to help myself...Joyce

[larrynz]

I have no doubt that cigarettes are the main cause, us smokers become more prone to lung disease, but we also know that only 15% or so of smokers end up with COPD.
The above information may well explain a lot.