Did you know that at least 15% of adult respiratory diseases could be prevented by addressing workplace exposures? We spoke with Vivi Schlünssen, course leader for the upcoming course, “Occupational Respiratory Diseases – From Risk Factors to Prevention,” about the three-day course in Denmark this May.

Background and Interest in the Field

Vivi Schlünssen has a medical background as a specialist in occupational medicine. Since 2015, she has worked full-time in research. She began as a professor at the National Research Center for the Working Environment (NFA) in Copenhagen and, since 2018, has been a professor in Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology at the Department of Public Health, Aarhus University in Denmark.

“From the very beginning of my professional life, I have been interested in the intersection between society and the healthcare system, particularly how our environment impacts lung health and allergies. As a young physician, I noticed many employees from the furniture industry in Northern Denmark suffered from respiratory complaints. This experience fueled my interest in understanding how the environment impacts our health, especially lung health and allergies,” Schlünssen shares.

Career Highlights

Schlünssen does not see any significant stand-alone highlights during her career so far, but her most substantial contribution to the field is expanding our understanding of the complex interplay between organic dust and obstructive lung disease.

“We have shown that organic dust and microbial exposure can cause respiratory disease but also have beneficial effects, such as preventing allergies and possibly asthma. The beneficial effects of microbial exposures early in life, as well as in adulthood, seem to depend on the timing, specific type of exposure, and the disease of interest. These findings cannot be explained by selection processes,” she explains.

Conducting high-quality international research with regional or global societal impact requires important research questions, excellent young and experienced researchers, sufficient critical mass, funding opportunities, and societal openness to implementing results for a better environment. These elements are not always present, making her research career diverse rather than linear—a fact she shares with many other researchers.

Respiratory Health and Disease: An Important and Current Issue in 2025

The immense impact of the environment on health, including respiratory health and disease, is evident. Despite significant research efforts, it is still estimated that at least 15% of the disease burden among adults for respiratory diseases could be avoided if occupational exposures are eliminated. Thus, there is still substantial potential for preventing these diseases. Furthermore, the management of patients with occupational respiratory disease is only partly evidence-based today.

With an increasing emphasis on the life cycle economy and renewable energy, we foresee a growing number of workers employed in industries such as recycling and wind turbine manufacturing, which are characterized by exposures relevant to respiratory disease.

About the Upcoming Course

The respiratory diseases we will cover in this course are either highly prevalent (asthma, rhinitis, COPD) or often severe with a poor prognosis (interstitial lung disease, COPD, lung cancer). Patients are regularly referred to hospitals or university clinics for diagnosis, evaluation of occupational exposure, and preventive initiatives for the patient and their workplace. This field also offers substantial potential for primary prevention. After the course, participants will be aware of the latest knowledge related to occupational respiratory diseases, including mechanisms, diagnostics, emerging and well-known occupational exposures, evidence levels, and prevention. Furthermore, participants will be prepared for active participation in the further development of both the clinical and research fields within occupational respiratory diseases.

Course: 5-8.5.2025, Sandbjerg Estate, Sønderborg, Denmark
More information: Course web page I Course registration I Last registration date 4.3.2025.