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Neurobehavioral effects of long‐term occupational exposure to organic solvents: Two comparable studies
Author(s) -
Spurgeon A.,
Gray C. N.,
Sims J.,
Calvert I.,
Levy L. S.,
Harvey P. G.,
Harrington J. M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700220306
Subject(s) - solvent exposure , medicine , confounding , organic solvent , occupational exposure , occupational medicine , psychiatry , environmental health , chemical engineering , engineering
Two comparable cross‐sectional studies were carried out employing the same methodology but involving two separate solvent‐exposed populations (N = 90, N = 144). In each study, solvent‐exposed workers were compared with age‐matched controls on tests selected from the Neurobehavioral Evaluation System and on standardized questionnaire measures of symptomatology and psychiatric state. A similar pattern of results was obtained in the two studies indicating a significant effect on cognitive functioning, after controlling for confounding variables, occurring in those with more than 30 years of exposure. A more specific effect on learning processes was observed in those with more than 10 years of exposure. There were no indications in either study of a solvent‐related increase in psychiatric symptoms.