NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN A NONCLINICAL SAMPLE OF WORKERS EXPOSED TO SOLVENTS

The risk of long-term damage to the CNS after exposure to mixed solven ts in work environments is controversial. Thirty-six workers were stud ied who had been exposed to organic solvents for more than 10 years (m ean 24.5 years) in a working environment. The workers and unexposed co ntrols were studied with a battery of neuropsychological and cognitive tests. Significant group differences were observed for the Wechsler a dult intelligence scale (WAIS) digit span and symbol digit substitutio n, and on paired associate learning and continuous word recognition. T he results suggest that long-term work-related exposure to organic sol vents may have chronic toxic effects.