Neurobehavioural changes in workshop painters of a public transport network

To determine alterations in functional capacities due to exposure to solvents in painters, a battery of psychological tests consisting of associative recall, critical flicker fusion, letter cancellation, Muller-Lyer illusion and card sorting was administered before their work day schedule starting at 0800 h, 16 h after cessation of their work the previous day. Simultaneously a reference group of diesel worker and a control group were also tested at the same time of day. Age-adjusted performance scores were calculated for the painter group and diesel worker group based on the linear age trend of the control group. Analysis of variance suggested significant degradation in performance on tests of critical flicker fusion (alternate), letter cancellation, Muller-Lyer illusion and card sorting (by design configuration). Persistence of solvent exposure effects through visual and motor function impairments is reflected.