Psychiatric Function and Quality of Life of Workers with Long-Term Exposure to Organic Solvents

Kim, Seog Jae; Kang, Soon Ah; Yoo, Chi Suk; Kook, Seung Hee; Yoon, Jin Sang; Moon, Jai Dong; Lee, Hyung Yung

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychiatric function and quality of life of the chemical workers who had been exposed to long-term, low-level organic solvents in the Y industrial complex.
METHODS
A total of 144 male workers, of whom 82 were in the exposed group and 60 in the unexposed-control group, were evaluated by using Symptom Checklist-90-R(SCL-90-R), series of neuropsychological tests(critical flicker fusion threshold, CFFT); choice reaction time, CRT; compensatory tracking task, CTT); digit symbol substitution test, DSS), and the Korean version of the SmithKline Beecham Quality Of Life scale(KvSBQOL). For the statistical analyses, comparisons of the means of the two groups were performed for each variable with two-tailed t-test as well as ANCOVA including age and education as covariates.
RESULTS
For the SCL-90-R, the nine symptom scales and the three global indices were clinically within normal range in both groups. However, the scores on the symptom scales of 'somatization', 'depression', 'hostility' and 'phobic anxiety', and those on the global indices of 'global severity index' and 'positive symptom total', were significantly higher in the exposed group than in the unexposed group. In terms of the neuropsychological function and the quality of life, there wes no significant difference between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggested that the long-term exposure to mixed organic solvents, even at the low level below the permissible exposure limit, might induce some psychiatric problems.