Cognitive effects of chronic exposure to lead and solvents

Fiedler, Nancy; Weisel, Clifford P.; Lynch, Richard; Kelly‐McNeil, Kathie; Wedeen, Richard P.; Jones, Keith; Udasin, Iris; Ohman‐Strickland, Pamela; Gochfeld, Michael

doi:10.1002/ajim.10287

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Most of these studies were crosssectional in design and involved occupationally exposed populations. One of these with a small sample size (n = 57) did not find a relation between bone lead and neurobehavioral tests (Osterberg et al 1997) and two others found small effects of bone lead (Hanninen et al 1998;Schwartz et al 2001), whereas the others reported more robust associations between higher bone lead and worse neurocognitive performance (Bleecker et al 1997;Fiedler et al 2003;Stewart et al 1999). Two other studies of an elderly general (nonoccupational) population of men found that higher bone lead was associated with impairments on neuropsychological tests of visual memory and spatial copying (Payton et al 1998) and increased odds of scoring < 24 on the MMSE-a traditional cut point for increased risk of dementia (Wright et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Cognitive deficits and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in adult monozygotic twins with lead poisoning.

Weisskopf

Mulkern

et al. 2004

Environ Health Perspect

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Seventy-one-year-old identical twin brothers with chronic lead poisoning were identified from an occupational medicine clinic roster. Both were retired painters, but one brother (J.G.) primarily removed paint and had a history of higher chronic lead exposure. Patella and tibia bone lead concentrations measured by K-X-ray fluorescence in each brother were 5-10 times those of the general population and about 2.5 times higher in J.G. than in his brother (E.G.). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies examined N-acetylaspartate:creatine ratios, a marker of neuronal density. Ratios were lower in J.G. than in his brother. Scores on neurocognitive tests that assess working memory/executive function were below expectation in both twins. Short-term memory function was dramatically worse in J.G. than in his brother. These results demonstrate some of the more subtle long-term neurologic effects of chronic lead poisoning in adults. In particular, they suggest the presence of frontal lobe dysfunction in both twins, but more dramatic hippocampal dysfunction in the brother with higher lead exposure. The MRS findings are consistent with the hypothesis that chronic lead exposure caused neuronal loss, which may contribute to the impairment in cognitive function. Although a causal relation cannot be inferred, the brothers were genetically identical, with similar life experiences. Although these results are promising, further study is necessary to determine whether MRS findings correlate both with markers of lead exposure and tests of cognitive function. Nevertheless, the results point to the potential utility of MRS in determining mechanisms of neurotoxicity not only for lead but also for other neurotoxicants as well.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Cognitive deficits and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in adult monozygotic twins with lead poisoning.

Weisskopf

Mulkern

et al. 2004

Environ Health Perspect

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“…Blue collars can be exposed to various occupational hazards. It has been noted, for example, that workers exposed to heavy metals or solvents suffered from disorders in information processing speed and memory [47] . Moreover, high exposure to stress in blue collars [42] can also explain the higher prevalence of cognitive disabilities as stress could modify memory both in learning and recalling new information [48] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Sensory and Cognitive Disabilities and Falls, and Their Relationships: A Community-Based Study

Gauchard

Deviterne²,

Guillemin³

et al. 2006

Neuroepidemiology

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This study assessed the prevalence of sensory and cognitive disabilities and falls for various age groups, sexes, and socio-occupational categories, and their associations in the Lorraine population.The sample included6,159 subjects, aged 15 years or more, randomly selected from the Lorraine population. They filled in a mailed questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics, job, falls with physical injuries at the time of the survey, and sensory and cognitive disabilities. Data analysis was made via the adjusted odds ratios.The prevalences of sensory and cognitive disabilities were 3.0 and 4.7%, respectively, that of falls with physical injuries 2.4%: 1.2% for falls on the same level and 1.2% for falls to a lower level. Subjects aged over 70 were markedly affected, but the other age groups had relatively high prevalences as well; the workmen had the highest prevalence, followed by the foremen, farmers, craftsmen and tradesmen, and employees. A twofold risk independently of age, sex and job was found for the subjects with sensory or cognitive disabilities for all falls combined.These findings show the high prevalences of sensory and cognitive disabilities and falls with physical injuries, and their strong associations in the general population. Preventive measures are needed to detect and follow up the persons with these disabilities, limit their risk of falls and reduce occupational hazards.

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“…There is considerable evidence that long term occupational exposure to mixed organic solvents can cause a wide range of chronic central nervous system abnormalities [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . Behavioral manifestations of such damage include an increase in psychiatric symptoms, reported memory and concentration difficulties, and impairment of cognitive functioning as demonstrated by performance on neurobehavioral tests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurobehavioral Changes of Shipyard Painters Exposed to Mixed Organic Solvents

et al. 2005

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Abstracts: This study was conducted to evaluate neurobehavioral changes arising from occupational exposure to organic solvents among shipyard painters and to establish whether a dose-effect relation existed where there was any observed impairment of neurobehavioral performance by running the test of Simple Reaction Time (SRT), Symbol Digit Substitution (SD), and Finger Tapping Speed (FT) with a computer-assisted neurobehavioral test battery. The study group consisted of 180 shipyard painters and 60 reference workers. The workers answered a self-administered questionnaire on occupational, medical history, and demographic characteristics including age, work duration, education level, and quantity and frequency of alcohol and smoking, and performed three psychometric tests on the Korean Computerized Neurobehavioral tests. To estimate cumulative exposure level, samples of ambient air on 61 painters were analyzed using a gas chromatograph. Shipyard painters and the reference group showed significant differences in the results of test of SD, FT of dominant hand, and FT of non-dominant hand. The test results of SD of shipyard painters also showed significant difference by duration of work. This suggests that occupational exposure of organic solvent could induce neurobehavioral changes in the shipyard painters. Therefore an objective neurobehavioral test is recommended on evaluating neurobehavioral performance of longterm solvent-exposed shipyard workers.

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Cognitive effects of chronic exposure to lead and solvents

Abstract: Bone lead was associated with slower speed of processing while exposure to lead and/or solvents reduced efficiency of verbal learning.

Cited by 34 publications

References 48 publications

Cognitive deficits and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in adult monozygotic twins with lead poisoning.

Cognitive deficits and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in adult monozygotic twins with lead poisoning.

Prevalence of Sensory and Cognitive Disabilities and Falls, and Their Relationships: A Community-Based Study

Neurobehavioral Changes of Shipyard Painters Exposed to Mixed Organic Solvents

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