engleski

Solvent abuse among workers occupationally exposed to the organic solvents

The aim of the study was to determine characteristics of solvent abuse among workers occupationally exposed to the mixture of organic solvents. Adverse health effects of the long term, low-dose occupational exposure on the one hand, and of the solvent abuse on the other are well documented. However, reports on solvent abuse in industrial settings are rather scarce. The subjects comprised patients from our occupational medicine clinic who were also sent for psychiatric examination. All have been occupationally exposed to a mixture of various organic solvents during a period from 1.5 to 32 years (N=138, males (M)=102, females(F)=36, average age (years) M=42.6, STD 7.5; F=37.9, STD 7.8). The semistructured psychiatric interview was performed and a subgroup who abused the solvents was identified. All patients in this subgroup were males. The current prevalence of abuse in the whole group (M+F) was 2.17% and lifetime prevalence 5.01% (in the group of males 2.9% and 6.9%, respectively). It should be stressed that the patients did not acknowledge the abuse until they were specifically asked about it. The abuse considerably enhances the lifetime cumulative exposure and hence increases the risk of late, long term adverse effects of intoxication. The acute effects of solvent abuse, comparable to those of alcohol, may lower the quality of work and increase the probability of work related accidents. Importance of timely recognition of the disorder and the need of prevention has been emphasize

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