Analgesics Abuse of Workers Exposed to Organic Solvents

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the actual condition of an analgesic intake of workers exposed to organic solvents. METHODS: The questionnaire and/or interview survey was conducted on workers who worked for small-scale factories of less than 50 employees when they visited an university hospital for a regular physical check-up required by the company. RESULTS: Among workers exposed to organic solvents, the proportion of those who took more than four tablets of analgesics a day or over 10 tablets of analgesics a month were 1.7 times and 1.5 times higher respectively than other workers not exposed to solvents. This indicates that the analgesic intake of workers exposed to organic solvents may be a threat to their health. As for the source of analgesics, individual purchases at drug store were about 12 times more common than doctors' prescriptions in both groups. This imbalance warns us of the possibility of analgesic abuse. The most common reason for analgesic intake was due to a headache in both groups. CONCLUSION: These results show that workers exposed to organic solvents take many more analgesics than non-exposed workers, so they have a greater chance of drug abuse.