The psychological effects of exposure to mixed organic solvents on car painters.

PURPOSE: Interest in diseases of the nervous system resulting from occupational exposure to mixed organic solvents has greatly increased. The aim of our study was to identify preclinical effects of low-level chronic solvent exposure on the central nervous system in car painters by assessing their cognitive performance. METHODS: This psychological study involved 169 clinically healthy male volunteers (84 car painters and 85 controls) and is part of a comprehensive study investigating effects of solvent exposure. The test battery included paper-pencil tests (vocabulary test, block design test, c.i., d2 test), computer-based tests (digit span test, simple-choice reaction time test), and a questionnaire to assess the participants' mental state. RESULTS: Car painters with long-term exposure to solvents showed psychological deviations such as deficits in concentration, memory and reaction time compared to unexposed subjects. The significant differences between the two groups were confirmed by multivariate statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study displayed psychological effects associated with long-term solvent exposure in concentrations below German threshold limit values. These findings emphasize the necessity to promote the resolute compliance with occupational safety and health regulations in affected companies.

[Subjective need for help and objectified geriatric assess. Comparison of the Halberstädter Gerontologic Study and the Augsburger Senior Study]. / Subjektiver Hilfebedarf und objektivierendes Geriatrisches Assessment. Die Halberstädter Gerontologische Studie und die Augsburger Senioren Studie im Vergleich.

The Halberstadt Geriatric Study and the Augsburg Senior Citizens Study contain common elements of geriatric assessment (self-assessment of functional dependence, objective evaluation of the functional status). In our cross-sectional investigation, the objective was to examine associations between functional dependence and functional tests and to investigate whether association patterns differed between the surveyed groups. The prospective Halberstadt study began in the German Democratic Republic in 1983 within the framework of a vocational examination before employees entered retirement. In 1995 the study was reactivated; 367 survivors answered a postal questionnaire of which 167 persons took part in a test battery including performance and psychometric tests. The 214 Augsburg test persons had already taken part in the MONICA survey (monitoring of trends and determinants of cardiovascular disease). In 1997 they were assessed in a follow-up study, the aim being to determine the functional status of an elderly cohort through interviews and functional tests. In both studies functional dependence was defined by the (I)ADL concept [(instrumental) activities of daily living]. The participants' functional status was determined with the help of performance tests such as foot tapping and cognitive tests such as the Mini-Mental State Examination. Additionally, medical diagnoses and the use of medical facilities were investigated. The presence of functional dependence was consistently and predominantly significantly associated with the functional status assessed by performance tests. These results were largely confirmed by a logistic regression model. Our results show that even in populations with a different socialization, performance tests are stable indicators of functional dependence and should therefore be incorporated in geriatric assessment programs. The introduction of a standardized assessment program with subsequent intervention measures could lead to a delay of functional dependence and need of care and reduce costs in the health care system.

Workplace conditions predict the risk of premature death and functional dependence after retirement--results of a gerontological follow-up study in Germany.

Between 1983 and 1985, 595 employees who were entering retirement in East Germany were given a medical examination and asked to assess their workplace conditions. Ten years later, we examined whether occupational predictors were associated with death and functional dependence among the study participants and assessed how the surviving pensioners coped with activities and instrumental activities of daily living. We assigned the occupational factors reported between 1983 and 1985 to two scales: demands and resources. Multiple logistic regression analyses were carried out to examine the association of occupational and medical predictors with the outcome variables death and functional dependence. Workplace resources but not demands were significantly associated with a reduced chance of death in women, independent of medical diagnoses. For men neither of these associations were verified. Concerning functional dependence individual items such as 'control over work content' (for both sexes) significantly reduced the risk of developing ADL-dependence. The associations remained stable after medical diagnoses were additionally taken into consideration. The results of our study highlight the influence of occupational factors beyond working life and support the importance of starting geriatric health promotion before retirement age.