@article{ref1,
title="Exposure to organic solvents and neurobehavioral assessment of working children of informal footwear units of Agra, India",
journal="Neurology India",
year="2022",
author="Tiwari, Rajnarayan R. and Tripathi, Somnath R.",
volume="70",
number="5",
pages="1953-1957",
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. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken among the working children of informal footwear units of Agra to assess neurobehavioral functions using neurobehavioral tests. <br><br>MATERIALS AND METHODS: 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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0028-3886",
doi="10.4103/0028-3886.359195",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0028-3886.359195"
}