Inhalational exposures in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease: Presentation, pulmonary function and survival in the Canadian Registry for Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Patients with fibrotic ILD report high prevalence of inhalational exposures across ILD subtypes. These exposures were associated with younger age at diagnosis, male gender and family history of pulmonary fibrosis. Identification of an inhalational exposure was associated with a survival benefit. These findings suggest that inhaled exposures may impact clinical outcomes in patients with ILD, and future work should characterize the mechanisms underlying these relationships.