Neurobehavioral impairments of residents residing near petrochemical plants: a cross-sectional study

摘要

Background: A growing body of literature shows that residents residing near petrochemical plants (PP) are associated with adverse health outcomes. However, studies on possible effects on neurobehavioral functions are limited. Objectives: To assess the effects of residing near (PP) on neurobehavioral performances of population in an industrial area. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in June 2010 in four sub-districts, with a population of about 60,000 people, in Rayong Province the largest industrial area in Thailand. Residents (n=5,134) aged 6 to 50 years residing in the area were included in the study. We used Digit Symbol-Coding to assess the relationship between hand and eye of all subjects; and Digit span to test short-term memory. The mean distance from residences to the centroid of dusters of the PP was measured using GIS and categorized into four levels by quartile: residing extremely near, residing very near, residing near and residing far from the PP. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess the association between neurobehavioral performances and distances. Results: After adjustment for age, sex, education level, smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, indoor and outdoor (VOC) and traffic related VOC, a score in coding was inversely associated with residing extremely near PP (-0.76 points; 95% CI: -0.99, -0.53), residing very near (-0.47; -0.70, -0.23) and residing near (-0.20; -0.44, 0.04) relative to residing far from PP. A score in digit was inversely associated with residing extremely near PP (-0.40;-0.60, -0.19), residing very near (-0.29; -0.49, -0.08) and residing near (-0.20; -0.41, 0.02) relative to residing far from PP. Conclusions: Residents residing near petrochemical plants were associated with impaired performances on neuropsychological tests when compared with those residing other areas. There is an urgent need to call for enforcement of regulatory standards to protect the population residing near industrial areas.