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Why did Bernardino Ramazzini ask patients about their occupations?

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Asbestosis — occupational disease The lung disease asbestosis is caused primarily by prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers. It occurs mainly among workers whose occupations involve exposure to asbestos and people who live near mines, factories, and construction sites.

Bernardino Ramazzini, widely recognized as the father of occupational medicine, asked his patients about their occupations because he believed it was essential for a physician to identify a patient's work to determine the underlying cause of their disorder.1

In his seminal work, Diseases of Workers, Ramazzini documented the health hazards associated with 54 different occupations, ranging from the mercury poisoning of mirror makers to ailments affecting scholars. By establishing this link between professional activity and physical health, he shifted medical focus toward the environmental and chemical factors—such as dust, metals, and irritating chemicals—that workers encountered daily. His approach laid the foundation for modern epidemiology and the systematic study of workplace-related illnesses.21