Abstract
(1) Background: Neglected occupational health and safety aspects in batik industries cause their workers to have an increased risk of lead exposure. The effect of occupational lead exposure on neurocognitive performance is inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted an observational study to examine the difference in simple reaction time between lead-exposed batik workers and non-exposed referents. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in seven batik enterprises in Lendah District, Indonesia, excluding workers with medical conditions impairing reaction time. Simple reaction time tests were conducted using an online tool. Two-way model ANCOVAs examined interactions between gender and job types on the mean differences in reaction time. (3) Results: After controlling for age and body mass index, we observed longer reaction times among lead-exposed batik workers than non-exposed referents with an adjusted mean difference of 0.19 (95% CI: 0.016–0.368) seconds. A more prominent detrimental effect of lead exposure on reaction time among female workers than among male workers was observed. (4) Conclusions: Our results suggest that occupational lead exposure could contribute to longer reaction time, notably among female workers. Thus, occupational health and safety precautions are vital to protect batik workers and preserve their important contributions to cultural heritage.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Batik has been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia [1]
Eight subjects were excluded from the analysis because they had outlier values for reaction time
This study found a longer reaction time among lead-exposed batik workers than nonnon-exposed batik workers
Summary
Batik has been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia [1]. In addition to its cultural contribution, batik industries are artistic industries contributing to Indonesia’s gross domestic product of more than 100,000 trillion rupiahs and employing more than 5 million persons annually [2]. While there was a huge economic decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, batik industries still contribute to maintaining. Indonesian profit-making by expanding their export value [3].
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