Abstract

Occupational exposure to organic solvents has been implicated in the development of "presenile dementia" in several studies. The death certificates of all men aged under 65 dying in England and Wales bearing presenile dementia as cause of death were collected for the years 1970-9 (n = 557): control death certificates were obtained, matched for age and sex. No significant differences were found between the groups as regards estimated occupational exposure to either organic solvents or lead.