KNOWN CAUSES OF PULMONARY FIBROSIS
Several known causes of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). They include:

   1. Occupational and environmental exposures. Many careers - particularly those that involve mining or cause workers exposure to asbestos or metal dusts -- can cause PF. Workers doing these kinds of jobs may inhale small particles, silica dusts, asbestos fibers, fumes that can damage the lungs, especially the small airways, and cause scarring (fibrosis). Farmers can be affected. Organic substances, such as moldy hay, cause an allergic reaction in the lung. This reaction is Farmer's Lung and can cause PF. Farms are also a source for a number of fumes.

   2. Sarcoidosis. A disease characterized by the formation of granulomas (areas of inflammatory cells), which can attack any area of the body but most frequently affects the lungs.

   3. Drugs. Certain medications have the undesirable side effect of causing PF. Check with your physician about the medications you are prescribed and ask about side effects.

   4. Radiation. (treatment for cancer)

   5. Connective tissue or collagen diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis.

   6. Genetic/familial. This is not as common as the other causes listed.

IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS (IPF)

When all known causes of interstitial lung disease (ILD) are ruled out, the condition is called "idiopathic" (of unknown origin) pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

There are theories as to what causes IPF including viruses and allergic or environmental exposure tobacco and smoking. These theories are being researched. Bacteria and other microorganisms are not thought to be the cause of IPF.

There is also a form of the disease, known as familial idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (FIPF). Research is being funded to determine whether a genetic tendency to develop the disease, as well as to determine other causes of IPF.