Exposure to Organic Solvents and Neurobehavioral Assessment of Working Children of Informal Footwear Units of Agra, India.
Neurol India
; 70(5): 1953-1957, 2022.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36352593
ABSTRACT
Background:
Children aged 5 to 14 years are employed in the informal units of footwear making and are exposed to a mixture of organic solvents present in the adhesives. Organic solvents are reported to be toxic to the neurobehavioral system.Objective:
The present study was undertaken among the working children of informal footwear units of Agra to assess neurobehavioral functions using neurobehavioral tests. Materials andMethods:
The study included 151 working children and 157 school children. We used the interview technique to collect the data regarding demographic, occupational, personal, and clinical characteristics using a pre-designed and pre-tested proforma. Each study participant was then subjected to a neurobehavioral test battery that included digit symbol test, finger dexterity, tweezer dexterity, vocabulary test, picture completion, and maze completion test.Results:
The mean age of working children was 10.8 ± 1.5 years and that of school children was 11.0 ± 1.5 years. Except for the vocabulary test scores, all other test scores were significantly lower among working children as compared with the school children.Conclusion:
The study revealed that the working children in informal footwear making units are exposed to a mixture of chemicals that affect their neurobehavioral function as reflected by poor neurobehavioral test battery (NBT) scores.Palavras-chave
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Exposição Ocupacional
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En
Ano de publicação:
2022
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Article