[Psychological effects of chronic exposure to organophosphate pesticides--review of the literature].

One of the occupational hazards is exposure to organophosphorous pesticides in agriculture. With 8.5% of all occupational poisonings in Poland organophosphate poisonings hold one of the topmost positions. Organophosphorous chemicals induce inhibition of AChE activity thus leading to nervous system impairment. Chronic exposure does not bring about acute poisoning, however it produces various disorders within the system. Only a few studies on chronic exposure consider psychological dysfunctions as a possible effect. The parameters examined most frequently include short-term memory, learning, eye-hand coordination, reaction time in simple and complex reactions. The findings reveal impairments of these functions due to chronic exposure to organophosphates. However, in view of the limited samples of test groups the conclusions can only be tentative.