A cohort study of disability pensioning among Norwegian painters, construction workers, and workers in food processing.

The debate on the potentially adverse effects of long-term occupational exposure to organic solvents has mainly been based on observations in cross-sectional studies. We present results from a retrospective cohort study of three cohorts: 11,542 industrial and house painters, 36,899 construction workers, and 9,314 workers in food processing, all identified by the 1970 Norwegian census. The cohorts were followed to the end of 1987 for registration of disability pensioning by linkage of the census files to the files of the National Insurance Administration. The analysis revealed an increased risk for disability pensioning due to neurosis among the painters, compared with construction workers (rate ratio = 1.62; 95% confidence interval = 1.36-1.93) and compared with the workers in food processing (rate ratio = 1.84; 95% confidence interval = 1.42-2.38). The painters were also at increased risk of disability pensioning due to alcoholism. We found no major differences in ischemic heart diseases, disability pensioning due to all causes, or overall mortality. These results support the hypothesis that occupational exposure to organic solvents is a risk factor for disabling effects on the central nervous system.