TY - JOUR
T1 - Occupational exposure to manganese and fine motor skills in elderly men
T2 - Results from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study
AU - Pesch, Beate
AU - Casjens, Swaantje
AU - Weiss, Tobias
AU - Kendzia, Benjamin
AU - Arendt, Marina
AU - Eisele, Lewin
AU - Behrens, Thomas
AU - Ulrich, Nadin
AU - Pundt, Noreen
AU - Marr, Anja
AU - Robens, Sibylle
AU - Van Thriel, Christoph
AU - Van Gelder, Rainer
AU - Aschner, Michael
AU - Moebus, Susanne
AU - Dragano, Nico
AU - Brüning, Thomas
AU - Jöckel, Karl Heinz
N1 - Funding Information:
The Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology received a grant from the German Social Accident Insurance (FP 295). We are grateful for access to concentrations of manganese compiled in the database MEGA of the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (IFA), Sankt Augustin, Germany. M.A. was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01 ES10563).
PY - 2017/11/1
Y1 - 2017/11/1
N2 - Objectives: Exposure to manganese (Mn) may cause movement disorders, but less is known whether the effects persist after the termination of exposure. This study investigated the association between former exposure to Mn and fine motor deficits in elderly men from an industrial area with steel production. Methods: Data on the occupational history and fine motor tests were obtained from the second follow-up of the prospective Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study (2011-2014). The study population included 1232 men (median age 68 years). Mn in blood (MnB) was determined in archived samples (2000-2003). The association between Mn exposure (working as welder or in other at-risk occupations, cumulative exposure to inhalable Mn, MnB) with various motor functions (errors in line tracing, steadiness, or aiming and tapping hits) was investigated with Poisson and logistic regression, adjusted for iron status and other covariates. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for substantially impaired dexterity (errors >90th percentile, tapping hits <10th percentile). Results: The median of cumulative exposure to inhalable Mn was 58 μg m-3 years in 322 men who ever worked in at-risk occupations. Although we observed a partly better motor performance of exposed workers at group level, we found fewer tapping hits in men with cumulative Mn exposure >184.8 μg m-3 years (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.17-3.94). MnB ≥ 15 μg l-1, serum ferritin ≥ 400 μg l-1, and gamma-glutamyl transferase ≥74 U l-1 were associated with a greater number of errors in line tracing. Conclusions: We found evidence that exposure to inhalable Mn may carry a risk for dexterity deficits. Whether these deficits can be exclusively attributed to Mn remains to be elucidated, as airborne Mn is strongly correlated with iron in metal fumes, and high ferritin was also associated with errors in line tracing. Furthermore, hand training effects must be taken into account when testing for fine motor skills.
AB - Objectives: Exposure to manganese (Mn) may cause movement disorders, but less is known whether the effects persist after the termination of exposure. This study investigated the association between former exposure to Mn and fine motor deficits in elderly men from an industrial area with steel production. Methods: Data on the occupational history and fine motor tests were obtained from the second follow-up of the prospective Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study (2011-2014). The study population included 1232 men (median age 68 years). Mn in blood (MnB) was determined in archived samples (2000-2003). The association between Mn exposure (working as welder or in other at-risk occupations, cumulative exposure to inhalable Mn, MnB) with various motor functions (errors in line tracing, steadiness, or aiming and tapping hits) was investigated with Poisson and logistic regression, adjusted for iron status and other covariates. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for substantially impaired dexterity (errors >90th percentile, tapping hits <10th percentile). Results: The median of cumulative exposure to inhalable Mn was 58 μg m-3 years in 322 men who ever worked in at-risk occupations. Although we observed a partly better motor performance of exposed workers at group level, we found fewer tapping hits in men with cumulative Mn exposure >184.8 μg m-3 years (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.17-3.94). MnB ≥ 15 μg l-1, serum ferritin ≥ 400 μg l-1, and gamma-glutamyl transferase ≥74 U l-1 were associated with a greater number of errors in line tracing. Conclusions: We found evidence that exposure to inhalable Mn may carry a risk for dexterity deficits. Whether these deficits can be exclusively attributed to Mn remains to be elucidated, as airborne Mn is strongly correlated with iron in metal fumes, and high ferritin was also associated with errors in line tracing. Furthermore, hand training effects must be taken into account when testing for fine motor skills.
KW - Community-based cohort
KW - Ferritin
KW - Fine motor skills
KW - Manganese
KW - Welding
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U2 - 10.1093/annweh/wxx076
DO - 10.1093/annweh/wxx076
M3 - Article
C2 - 29136419
AN - SCOPUS:85044150559
VL - 61
SP - 1118
EP - 1131
JO - Annals of Work Exposures and Health
JF - Annals of Work Exposures and Health
SN - 2398-7308
IS - 9
ER -