Neuropsychological Dysfunction, Mood Disturbance, and Emotional Status of Munitions Workers

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the neuropsychological function, emotional status, visual function, and illness prevalence of 265 former munitions plant workers (M age = 56.7 years, M years of education = 12.07; 201 African American, 64 White) exposed to organic solvents for an average of 17.03 years with that of a group of 77 unexposed controls (M age = 51.3 years, M years of education = 13.07; 30 African American, 47 White). Neuropsychological tests were selected from the World Health Organization Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III), and Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III) and also included the Brief Symptom Inventory, Profile of Mood States, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory. Vision tests included the Lanthony d-15 color vision, the Vistech Contrast Sensitivity, and the Snellen. The exposed group showed greater deficits than the controls in verbal learning (WMS-III Logical Memory I Learning Slope and Word Lists I Recall), visuomotor tracking speed (Cancellation H, WAIS-III Digit Symbol-Coding) and psychomotor function (Dynamometer and Grooved Pegboard), and dysfunction in emotional status, illness prevalence, and visual function. African American workers reported higher levels of exposure than Whites. Exposure relations demonstrated increased neuropsychological dysfunction with increased exposure.

Advanced analysis of finger-tapping performance: A preliminary study

“…Moreover, the finger-tapping test is widely used to evaluate motor function in the upper limbs (6-8) and the relationship between hand preference and hand skill (9) in healthy individuals and to assess hand skill and coordination (10-12) for occupations in which the hands are essential. The finger-tapping test is also used for psychomotor evaluations (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

10.5152/balkanmedj.2012.105

“…Significantly lower finger-tapping scores have been reported in several exposure studies (13,14,16,17,20). However, significantly higher scores have also been reported (18). Moreover, finger-tapping performance scores were better in males compared with females (12).…”

“…Previous studies have mainly reported the total number of tappings in a certain test period (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)23) and the tapping speed (6,25). Kauranen et al (25) compared patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to healthy individuals and found no significant differences in the finger-tapping values of the groups.…”

“…Moreover, the finger-tapping test is widely used to evaluate motor function in the upper limbs (6)(7)(8) and the relationship between hand preference and hand skill (9) in healthy individuals and to assess hand skill and coordination (10)(11)(12) for occupations in which the hands are essential. The finger-tapping test is also used for psychomotor evaluations (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

“…Moreover, the finger-tapping test is widely used to evaluate motor function in the upper limbs (6-8) and the relationship between hand preference and hand skill (9) in healthy individuals and to assess hand skill and coordination (10-12) for occupations in which the hands are essential. The finger-tapping test is also used for psychomotor evaluations (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).The movement involved in single-finger tapping is complex and is affected by visual and auditory stimuli, emotional and physical health, and factors that impact the skeletal and nervous systems. The characterisation of finger-tapping by an average tapping interval or by a tapping rate can only provide a limited amount of information.…”