ORIGINAL PAPER
Faster health deterioration
among nail technicians
occupationally exposed to low levels
of volatile organic compounds
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Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland
(Department of Toxicology and Carcinogenesis)
Online publication date: 2016-12-28
Corresponding author
Peter Grešner
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Department of Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, św. Teresy 8, 91-348 Łódź, Poland
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2017;30(3):469-83
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ABSTRACT
Objectives: The study has aimed at investigating the subjective assessment of an individual’s health status and comparing
the prevalence of selected work-related symptoms among nail technicians occupationally exposed to volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) to the one among control subjects. Associations between occupational exposure to VOCs and
the incidence of adverse health effects were also analyzed. Material and Methods: The study involved 145 female nail
technicians and 152 control subjects. Data on the prevalence of adverse health effects was collected using the researcher-
made questionnaire and then analyzed by means of survival analysis methods. Results: Only 22% of nail technicians
as compared to 45% of control subjects described their current health status as “excellent” or “very good” (odds ratio
(OR) = 0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2–0.6, p < 0.00005). In general, 61% of nail technicians confirmed to have
experienced any out of all symptoms considered in the study since the commencement of the job, which was significantly
higher as compared to 17% of control subjects (adjusted OR = 2.8, 95% CI: 2.1–3.7, p < 0.0001). Estimated median
length of the employment period free of investigated symptoms was significantly shorter among nail technicians as compared
to controls (12 years vs. 33 years, p < 0.0001), consistent with almost 4-times increased hazard of the occurrence of
such symptoms among the technicians (hazard ratio (HR) = 3.9, 95% CI: 2.7–5.7, p < 0.0001). Cox proportional hazard
regression modeling revealed almost 5-times increased hazard of the occurrence of any symptoms among nail technicians
exposed to higher levels of the mixture of VOCs as compared to those exposed to lower levels (HR = 4.9, 95% CI: 1–24.1,
p = 0.05). Conclusions: All outcomes combined together indicate that nail technicians are subject to faster health deterioration,
which may be assumed to be caused by occupational exposure to low levels of VOCs. Int J Occup Med Environ
Health 2017;30(3):469–483