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International audience; BackgroundA field survey used a “sleep-breathing” questionnaire to estimate the prevalence of the excessive daytime sleepiness in a sample of middle-aged males.MethodsEight hundred and fifty men aged 22 to 66 years agreed to answer a questionnaire and have anthropometric measurements. To the question on excessive daytime sleepiness, 90 subjects (10.8%) responded “often” or “almost always”; 740 gave a negative answer.ResultsThe sleepy subjects were older and had a higher “central” weight. All the sleep-disturbed breathing symptoms and those suggesting sleep disturbances were more frequent in sleepy subjects. Sleepiness was significantly associated with sleep apnea and chronic bronchitis. Logistic regression identified six items independently associated with daytime sleepiness; there were three indirect indicators of sleepiness, age, a history of chronic bronchitis and disruptive movements during sleep.ConclusionsThis epidemiologic study in a sample of active middle-aged males confirms the association of daytime sleepiness with a series of respiratory and non-respiratory sleep disturbances. The original findings are the role of a “central” obesity, the association with nightmares, and the role of chronic bronchitis as a determinant of daytime sleepiness.; Position du problèmeUne étude épidémiologique a utilisé un questionnaire pour estimer la prévalence de la somnolence diurne excessive dans un échantillon d’hommes d’âge moyen.MéthodesAu total, 850 hommes âgés de 22 à 66 ans ont accepté de répondre au questionnaire et ont eu des mesures anthropométriques. À la question sur une sensation de somnolence excessive, 90 sujets (10,8 %) ont répondu « souvent » ou « presque toujours » ; 740 sujets répondant par la négative.RésultatsLes sujets somnolents étaient plus âgés et avaient un rapport taille/hanche plus élevé. Les troubles respiratoires pendant le sommeil et les altérations du sommeil étaient plus fréquents chez les somnolents. Parmi les antécédents, la somnolence était associée avec un antécédent d’apnée du sommeil (diagnostiqué par un médecin) et avec la bronchite chronique. L’analyse multivariée a identifié comme facteurs associés de façon indépendante trois réponses indirectes de somnolence, l’âge, les antécédents de bronchite et les mouvements brusques pendant le sommeil.ConclusionsCette enquête confirme l’association de la somnolence diurne avec des troubles respiratoires et non respiratoires du sommeil. Les éléments originaux sont : le rôle d’une obésité « centrale », l’association avec les cauchemars et le rôle indépendant de la bronchite chronique comme déterminants de la somnolence diurne déclarée.

The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) was planned to answer specific questions about the distribution of asthma and health care given for asthma in the European Community. Specifically, the survey is designed to estimate variations in the prevalence of asthma, asthma-like symptoms and airway responsiveness; to estimate variations in exposures to known or suspected risk factors for asthma, and assess to what extent these variations explain the variations in the prevalence of disease; and to estimate differences in the use of medication for asthma. The protocol provides specific instructions on the sampling strategy adopted by the survey teams, as well as providing instructions on the use of questionnaires, the tests for allergy, lung function measurements, tests of airway responsiveness, and blood and urine collection. The principal data collection sheets and questionnaires are provided in the appendices, together with information on coding and quality control. The protocol is published as a reference for those who wish to know more of the methods used in the study, and also to give other groups who wish to collect comparable data access to the detailed methodology.

Prick tests were performed with "pneumallergerns" (mites, cereal dusts, animal dander, pollens, moulds--totalling 35 allergens) among 742 agricultural workers of the Meuse department (North East of France) as part of an epidemiological study on respiratory and immuno-allergological problems. Among those with positive skin tests, 47.9% had positive skin tests for mites, 22.4% for cereal dusts, 10.7% for animals, 12.7% for pollens and 7.8% for moulds. Polysensitization was frequent (19.5% of the population). When the skin test was positive for main house dust mites it frequently was positive for storage mites, too. Among vegetal dusts sensitization, soy bean allergy yielded the highest frequency (6.5%). As for animal sensitization, cow dander was the most frequently observed positive test. Sensitization to pollens and moulds was comparatively rare. This study shows the large frequency and diversity of "latent allergy" to pneumallergens among agricultural workers.