Photo Credit: Liubomyr Vorona

The Work-related Asthma Screening Questionnaire (Long-Version) (WRASQ-L) shows promise for identifying work-related asthma (WRA) in clinical settings, according to findings published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. The study, conducted by Madison MacKinnon and colleagues, involved 106 employed adults (mean age 47.1 years; 57% female) with confirmed asthma who completed the WRASQ-L followed by peak expiratory flow monitoring or specific inhalation challenge tests. Two asthma specialists, blinded to questionnaire results, classified participants as WRA or non-WRA. Of the participants, 14 (17%) were diagnosed with WRA and were significantly younger than non-WRA participants (P=0.043). The WRASQ-L demonstrated high sensitivity (90.9%) and negative predictive value (93.1%) but lower specificity (26.0%) and positive predictive value (32.1%). The researchers emphasized the WRASQ-L’s high sensitivity, adding that the tool may encourage discussions on workplace exposures, personal protective equipment, and the relationship between symptoms and the work environment, supporting broader occupational health management.