Neurology: Long-term occupational exposure to formaldehyde increases the risk of cognitive impairment, and some cognitive impairment is irreversible for life

Until recently, formaldehyde has been widely used as a disinfectant, biocide, fixative or binder in many industries (such as the chemical industry), agriculture, professional construction and human health activities.
Awareness, application gradually decline
.

Formaldehyde was listed as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research On Cancer in 2004 and 2012, based on strong evidence that it causes nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia

leukemia

In addition, excessive exogenous formaldehyde exposure can cause cognitive impairment in animals
.

Exposure to formaldehyde in laboratory animals can lead to neuropsychiatric symptoms such as aggression, depression, decreased motor performance, impairment of spatial memory, learning and memory impairment, decreased number of hippocampal neurons, and decreased memory

Currently, few studies have investigated the effects of exogenous formaldehyde exposure on human cognition
.

A study of 305 histology technicians between the ages of 23 and 78 showed that the number of hours of daily occupational exposure to formaldehyde was associated with better performance on tests assessing memory, dexterity, balance, coordination and reaction time.

To investigate the effect of formaldehyde exposure on cognition in the general population, researchers recently aimed at a large French cohort of young and middle-aged people from the general population to study the relationship between occupational exposure to formaldehyde and cognitive impairment
.

To investigate the effect of formaldehyde exposure on cognition in the general population, researchers recently aimed at a large French cohort of young and middle-aged people from the general population to study the relationship between occupational exposure to formaldehyde and cognitive impairment
.

To investigate the effect of formaldehyde exposure on cognition in the general population, researchers recently aimed at a large French cohort of young and middle-aged people from the general population to study the relationship between occupational exposure to formaldehyde and cognitive impairment

In the French CONSTANCES cohort, cognitive function was assessed by a standardized combination of seven cognitive tests to assess overall cognitive function, episodic verbal memory, language ability, and executive function (eg, the Digital Symbol Substitution Test, DSST)
.

Create a global cognitive score using principal component analysis

• Of the 75,322 participants (median age: 57.
  5 years, women: 53%), 8% had been exposed to formaldehyde in their careers
  .
  
  After adjusting for confounders (age, gender, education, age, income, solvent exposure, effort and reward imbalance, night work, repetitive and noisy work))
  
   This study highlights the long-term deleterious effects of formaldehyde exposure on cognitive health in a relatively young population
  
  Letellier N, Gutierrez LA, Pilorget C, et al.
  Association Between Occupational Exposure to Formaldehyde and Cognitive Impairment [published online ahead of print, 2021 Dec 22].
  Neurology.
  2021;10.
  1212/WNL.
  0000000000013146.
  doi:10.
  1212/WNL.
  0000000000131 Letellier N, Gutierrez LA, Pilorget C, et al.
  Association Between Occupational Exposure to Formaldehyde and Cognitive Impairment [published online ahead of print, 2021 Dec 22].
  Neurology.
  2021;10.
  1212/WNL.
  0000000000013146.
  doi:10.
  1212/WNL.
  0000000000131 leave a message here