PMID- 7795745
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19950731
LR  - 20190503
IS  - 1351-0711 (Print)
IS  - 1470-7926 (Electronic)
IS  - 1351-0711 (Linking)
VI  - 52
IP  - 4
DP  - 1995 Apr
TI  - Pre-employment screening among trainee bakers.
PG  - 279-83
AB  - OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of atopy in a vocational school so as to 
      evaluate the feasibility of pre-employment screening. METHODS: The prevalence of 
      atopy by family diathesis, prick tests, immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentrations, 
      and personal history of allergic respiratory diseases was investigated in 144 
      trainee bakers and 81 students on a graphic artists course (mean age 15.4 years). 
      Skin sensitisation to wheat, rye, and barley flours, to alpha amylase, and to 
      storage mites was also evaluated. RESULTS: Personal allergic symptoms were 
      reported by 13.2% of the bakers and 14.7% of the graphic artists and there was a 
      significant association between symptoms and atopy by prick tests (odds ratio 
      (OR) 17.2; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.27-56.4) and by family history (OR 
      3.11; 95% CI 1.02-9.53). When bakers were grouped according to the presence of 
      allergic symptoms and results of immunological tests, 6.9% had asthma, 6.3% had 
      rhinoconjunctivitis, and a high percentage (28.5%) were without symptoms but 
      scored positive on prick tests or family symptoms. Skin sensitisation to storage 
      mites had similar prevalences (16%) in the two groups of trainees and occurred 
      nearly always in atopic people. Positive skin tests to wheat flour (3.5%), rye 
      (0.7%), and alpha amylase (0.7%) were specific to bakers. CONCLUSIONS: 
      Pre-employment screening is a useful source of medical information and allows for 
      counseling. The presence of asthma, or of another allergic disease in a severe 
      form, is suggested as a criterion for excluding students of a vocational school 
      from training as bakers. Student bakers without allergic symptoms but atopic by 
      other criteria should be informed about their risks of developing occupational 
      asthma, and periodic check ups must be recommended. Screening studies in 
      vocational school provide a better understanding of specificity of skin 
      sensitisation to occupational allergens.
FAU - De Zotti, R
AU  - De Zotti R
AD  - Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Trieste, Italy.
FAU - Molinari, S
AU  - Molinari S
FAU - Larese, F
AU  - Larese F
FAU - Bovenzi, M
AU  - Bovenzi M
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Occup Environ Med
JT  - Occupational and environmental medicine
JID - 9422759
RN  - EC 3.2.1.1 (alpha-Amylases)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Asthma/*prevention & control
MH  - Edible Grain/immunology
MH  - Female
MH  - *Food Handling
MH  - Humans
MH  - Hypersensitivity, Immediate/epidemiology/etiology
MH  - Intradermal Tests
MH  - Italy/epidemiology
MH  - Male
MH  - *Mass Screening
MH  - Occupational Diseases/*prevention & control
MH  - Prevalence
MH  - Risk Factors
MH  - alpha-Amylases/immunology
PMC - PMC1128208
EDAT- 1995/04/01 00:00
MHDA- 1995/04/01 00:01
PMCR- 1995/04/01
CRDT- 1995/04/01 00:00
PHST- 1995/04/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1995/04/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1995/04/01 00:00 [entrez]
PHST- 1995/04/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1136/oem.52.4.279 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Occup Environ Med. 1995 Apr;52(4):279-83. doi: 10.1136/oem.52.4.279.