“Chronic painter's syndrome”. A reanalysis of psychological test data in a group of diagnosed cases, based on comparisons with matched controls

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

ABSTRACT— Twenty solvent‐exposed workers, most of them painters, had been diagnosed as cases of toxic encephalopathy in 1978/79. Two years later they were re‐examined with an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests. Their performance was unchanged on retesting. We have now compared their test results with those of non‐exposed control subjects. Previous impressions of significant intellectual impairment in the solvent‐exposed patients could not be confirmed when the influence of age, education, and intelligence was taken into consideration. The present group with presumed toxic encephalopathy is assumed to be representative of other patients who were similarly diagnosed in our department. The presently reanalyzed cases had been diagnosed as brain damaged and reported as such in the literature. Thus, they may have contributed to the formation of the concept of the “chronic painters' syndrome” with dementia. 1988 Blackwell Munksgaard

Original languageEnglish
JournalActa Neurologica Scandinavica
Volume77
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)293-306
Number of pages14
ISSN0001-6314
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 1988

    Research areas

  • intellectual impairment, neuropsychological assessment, painters, solvents, toxic encephalopathy, white spirit

ID: 275902493