Solvent exposure and cardiovascular disease.

A review of cardiovascular disease (CVD) resulting from environmental exposures pointed out the lack of studies concerned with the cardiovascular effects of hazardous environmental exposures. A later Working Group report on CVD in the workplace recommended further occupational studies of CVD, and it identified carbon monoxide, nitrates, and organic solvents as exposures especially deserving of study. The literature lacks a detailed, critical epidemiologic overview of work on this last topic. Therefore, the following review focuses on the cardiovascular effects of solvent exposures. Some major difficulties inherent in studies of CVD and environmental exposures are brought out, and some suggested areas for future epidemiologic research are discussed.