Neurobehavioral Effects of Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents Among Male Printing Workers in Hong Kong

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the neurobehavioral effects of long-term occupational exposure to low levels of organic solvent among male printing workers in Hong Kong. A total of 115 printing workers exposed to organic solvents were recruited from the printing divisions of 3 printing factories, and 101 workers from the binding divisions of the same factories constituted the comparison group. Active and passive samplings were used to assess the occupational exposures to solvents. The World Health Organization Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (WHO-NCTB) was applied to assess the neurobehavioral functions. Both active and passive sampling results showed that solvent levels were higher in the printing divisions than the binding divisions. The scores of Digit Symbol and Pursuit Aiming were poorer among workers in the printing divisions (all p values <.05). There were no significant differences found between the 2 divisions for other WHO-NCTB tests. The scores of Digit Symbol and Pursuit Aiming showed exposure-response relationship with various solvent exposure indices. Prolonged occupational exposure to low levels of organic solvents was associated with adverse neurobehavioral effects among male printing workers in Hong Kong.