Fifteen percent of adult asthmatics can trace the beginnings of their asthma back to their jobs, according to a report on About.com. Occupational asthma is the most common of the occupationally acquired respiratory diseases. It's estimated that there are more than one million Americans with occupational asthma.
Overall, there will be more than 65,000 adult Americans with new cases of lung disease related to their jobs this year, says the report. This year 25,000 people will die as a result of occupationally acquired lung disease. Occupational Lung Disease is the number one cause of work-related illness in the U.S.