Health effects of toluene exposure

The impact of industrial toluene exposure was assessed in 262 male employees of two Danish photographic printing plants. The study involved assessment of acute and chronic exposure based on a scoring system, standardised questions, measurement of blood pressure, pulmonary functions, and the plasma concentrations of urate, creatinine, creatine kinase, alanine-aminotransferase, FSH, LH, testosterone, sexual hormone binding globulin, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, and cortisole (following synacthen). The potentially confounding factors: age, weight, height, alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking were included in statistical analysis which showed that systolic blood pressure (p less than 0.01), P-P-FSH (p less than 0.001), dizziness (p less than 0.0001), decreased ability to concentrate (p less than 0.001), and dizziness during the past year (p less than 0.01) were correlated with the exposure score. Following six weeks without exposure, systolic blood pressure and P-ALAT decreased, the latter being correlated with the exposure score.