CME Learning Objectives
airway obstruction, obstructive lung diseasesOutline, asthma, deaths, COPD
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE, COPD, AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION, ASTHMA
After completing this enduring educational activity, the learner will be better able to:Discuss mortality related to obstructive lung diseasesOutline the related occupational exposure and their potential joint effect in a large, randomized population-based cohortCompare the response to no asthma or COPD with occupational exposureThe evidence for the occupational burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma has been substantial, and for coexisting asthma and COPD, it has been estimated to be at least 10%.COPD prevalence and incidence have previously been shown to have a relationship to occupational exposure.Finland as a country has a unique system of statistical information, such as registry of deaths, gathered and maintained by Statistics Finland. In addition, the reimbursement of asthma medicines is tied to diagnosis of asthma supported by verified variable airway obstruction as shown by objective lung function tests. Similarly, COPD required objective spirometry results to qualify for medicine reimbursements. Before the mid-1990s, asthma was mostly diagnosed and treated by pulmonologists,In epidemiological studies, airborne occupational exposures have been linked to the genesis of both COPD and asthma.Although mortality differences among different occupations have been reported earlier,