CORRESPONDENCE Importance of past occupational

exposures in the rising incidence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the UK We read with interest the recent article by Navaratnam et al highlighting the unex-plained rising incidence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the UK.1 While we agree that this area is of great clinical interest, we feel that the rapidly rising incidence, linked with the gender, age, geographical and socioeconomic risk factors for this disease, is strongly suggestive that the cause is not wholly idiopathic. Previous work by the same group found that 20 % of IPF could be explained epidemiologically b