"An editorial review of the prevention of occupational asthma was presented. Establishing a correct definition of an occupational condition often serves as a critical step in establishing a framework for its investigation and suitable intervention. To achieve their goal of preventing all acute and chronic asthma related conditions in workers at risk, the authors acknowledge that there are primarily two populations of workers at risk. The first includes workers with apparently normal airways and the second group includes workers with hyperresponsive airways, whatever the cause. A good definition of occupational asthma should include workers who experience immunologically mediated asthma resulting from exposures to sensitizers in the workplace, workers experiencing asthma from exposure to irritants in the workplace without an immunologic basis, and workers with preexisting asthma exacerbated by workplace environmental exposures. This broader approach recognizes that occupational asthma is a common endpoint of multiple pathways. By continuing to define occupational asthma as the onset of workplace sensitizer induced asthma, a significant disease prevention opportunity is missed. Dual prevention goals should be established to prevent all healthy individuals from developing hyperresponsive airways or becoming sensitized as a result of workplace exposures, and secondly to prevent chronic disease resulting from workplace exposures in the entire hyperresponsive population."

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