{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02065884980457845, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0033500837520938024, 'mean_word_length': 5.2439024390243905, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Lung Function and Skin Prick Test in Wheat Flour Mill Workers in Southwestern Iran

T he influence of the working environment on the induction of respiratory diseases was recognized long ago. Wheat flour is a high-molecular-weight compound that acts as a complete antigen, inducing the production of IgE antibodies and the release of different inflammatory cytokines.(1) These mediators induce damage to the upper and lower respiratory tract in workers with continuous exposure to wheat.(2) Increased IgE levels are determined by skin prick tests and/or serum specific IgE tests. Some reports have noted the contamination of wheat with agents such as mites(3) and found that mites can cause severe allergic reactions.(4) Symptomatic workers may develop cough, shortness of breath, and itching of the skin or eyes. In studies of occupational respiratory diseases, spirometry is one of the most important diagnostic tools for industrial hygiene control and epidemiologic screening.(5) Long-term exposure to flour dusts results in the accumulation of dusts in the airways and may be followed by impaired pulmonary function.(6) There is no consensus regarding the ability of skin prick tests with wheat or measurements of wheat-specific IgE in serum to predict respiratory symptoms. Health surveillance is important for flour mill workers who are continually exposed to large amounts of organic flour dusts. Information about the correlation between their allergic sensitization and pulmonary function may be helpful in improving health standards in their working environment. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of wheat flour dusts on pulmonary function. The correlation between IgE-mediated sensitization to wheat and mite antigens was also investigated with lung, eye, and skin symptoms.