Song Hong, Yu Ignatius Tak-Sun, Lao Xiang Qian
a Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou , China.
Arch Environ Occup Health. 2015;70(3):147-53. doi: 10.1080/19338244.2013.828676.
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.
本研究的目的是调查香港男性印刷工人长期职业性接触低水平有机溶剂的神经行为影响。从3家印刷厂的印刷部门招募了115名接触有机溶剂的印刷工人，来自同厂装订部门的101名工人组成对照组。采用主动和被动采样来评估职业性溶剂接触情况。应用世界卫生组织神经行为核心测试组合（WHO-NCTB）来评估神经行为功能。主动和被动采样结果均显示，印刷部门的溶剂水平高于装订部门。印刷部门工人的数字符号和目标追踪得分较差（所有p值<0.05）。在WHO-NCTB其他测试中，两个部门之间未发现显著差异。数字符号和目标追踪得分与各种溶剂接触指标呈暴露-反应关系。香港男性印刷工人长期职业性接触低水平有机溶剂与不良神经行为影响有关。
