Neuropsychological symptoms among metal workers exposed to halogenated hydrocarbons

A cross-sectional study was designed as a questionnaire investigation with the aim of mapping the load of symptoms, especially signs of neuropsychological dysfunction in relation to degreasing with halogenated hydrocarbons. The primary study group, 240 metal workers, comprised all identifiable persons engaged in degreasing with halogenated hydrocarbons in the county of Aarhus, the control group were 350 randomly selected semi-skilled metal workers. The final number of participants were 462 metal workers, corresponding to a rate of participation of 78.3%. The main findings were highly significant associations between exposure to halogenated hydrocarbons and symptoms of psychological dysfunction both at bivariate and multivariate analyses after adjustment for 4 potential confounder variables, age, alcohol consumption, neurological events and exposure to other organic solvents. Furthermore a dose-response-like relation could be demonstrated.