Occupational solvent exposure and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Long-term exposure to solvents has been shown to induce neuropsychiatric disorders in workers. In this case-referent study the cases comprised 374 construction workers who had been awarded a disability pension due to a neuropsychiatric disorder in 1978-1980. Their matched referents were selected from construction workers who had been granted a pension due to o ther diseases in the same three-year period. The results of this study indicate that solvent exposure increases the risk of being prematurely pensioned due to neuroses, but early pensioning due to alcoholism or other neuropsychiatric disorders is not increased by solvent exposure. This same conclusion has been reached in earlier studies on this matter in other countries.