Symptoms indicative of the effects of organic solvent exposure in Dutch painters.

The report describes the results of a cross-sectional study among two groups of young and older painters and two age-matched control groups. The study was intended to gather information on the occurrence of solvent-exposure symptoms among Dutch workers using a mailed questionnaire. Results indicated that among young painters and to a lesser extent among older painters what is commonly accepted as specific symptoms and additional solvent-related symptoms showed a higher frequency than among the controls. The most interesting observation was a significant relationship between the frequency of periods of heavy exposure and the severity of most symptom categories, whereas there was a lack of consistent relationships with other exposure parameters.