Exposure of workers to mixtures of organic solvents and to occupational noise is frequent in a number of industries. Recent studies suggest that exposure to both can cause a more severe hearing loss than exposure to noise alone. Our cross-sectional study included 411 workers of a large automobile plant divided in three groups. The fi rst group included assembly workers exposed to noise alone; the second included workers in a new paint shop, who were exposed to a mixture of organic solvents at a permissible level; and the third group included paint shop workers exposed to both noise and higher than permissible levels of organic solvents in an old paint shop. These groups were compared in terms of low-frequency hearing loss (model 1; average hearing threshold >25 dB at 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, and 2 kHz) and high-frequency hearing loss (model 2; average hearing threshold >25 dB at 3 kHz, 4 kHz, 6 kHz, and 8 kHz). High-frequency hearing loss was more common in workers exposed to a combination of noise and mixed organic solvents even at permissible levels than in workers exposed to noise alone even after correction for confounding variables. This study shows that combined exposure to mixed organic solvents and occupational noise can exacerbate hearing loss in workers. Therefore, an appropriate hearing protection programme is recommended, that would include short-interval audiometric examinations and effi cient hearing protectors.
Our results indicate that exposure to noise or a mixture of organic solvents may be associated with the prevalence of hypertension in car manufacturing company workers and co-exposure to noise and a mixture of solvents has an additive effect in this regard. Therefore appropriate preventive programs in these workers recommended.
Aim Organic solvents are widely used in industry. Hepatotoxicity of halogenated hydrocarbons has been confirmed in many studies. However, there are few studies about the association between exposure to aromatic solvents and hepatic toxicity. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of long-term exposure to a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons at above permissible levels on the hepatic system. Subjects and methods In this study, two groups of workers in an auto manufacturing plant were selected, workers in the painting room as the case group and workers in the assembly room as the control group. A questionnaire including demographic data was filled out for all 349 workers. After considering inclusion and exclusion criteria, 163 and 186 workers were entered into the case and control group, respectively, and were compared for plasma levels of ALT, AST and ALP. Results The mean plasma ALP level in the case group was significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.001). The plasma level of ALT and AST was higher in the case group as well, but was not statistically significant. An increase in ALP had a significant association with BMI (P< 0.001) and smoking (P=0.007).Conclusion Results of this study show that exposure to non-permissible levels of a mixture of aromatic solvents can cause mild cholestatic hepatic dysfunction. Therefore, using liver function tests (especially ALP), which are inexpensive, simple and non-aggressive, can be recommended as a screening method for early diagnosis of hepatic dysfunction.
Medical and veterinary professional programs are demanding and may have an impact on a student's quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to compare the perceived QOL of these two groups. In this study, we used the SF-36 questionnaire in which higher scores mean a better perceived QOL. Only the students in the internship phase of their program were selected so that we could compare the two groups in a similar way. In total, 308 valid questionnaires were gathered. Apart from age and body mass index (BMI), the two groups were demographically similar. The scores of five domains (physical activity limitation due to health problems, usual role limitation due to emotional problems, vitality, general mental health, and general health perception) and also the total score were statistically higher in medical students. Only the score of one domain (social activity limitation due to physical or emotional problems) was statistically higher in veterinary students. BMI, physical activity limitation due to health problems, and vitality lost their significance after binomial logistic regression. We found that, in general, veterinary students have lower scores for the perceived QOL with social function being the only exception. It can be assumed that in medical students, interaction with human patients may have a negative impact in the score of this domain. Even though medical students have shown lower perceived QOL than the general population in previous studies, veterinary students appear to have slightly lower perceived QOL than medical students.
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