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Title: Manganese exposure, parkinsonian signs, and quality of life in South African mine workers.

Authors: Dlamini, Wendy W; Nelson, Gill; Nielsen, Susan Searles; Racette, Brad A

Published In Am J Ind Med, (2020 01)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Manganese (Mn) neurotoxicity is associated with parkinsonism; the associated motor deficits can affect individuals' quality of life (QoL). We investigated associations between Mn exposure, parkinsonian signs, and QoL in Mn mine workers. METHODS: We assessed parkinsonian signs and QoL in 187 black South African Mn mine workers, using the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale motor subsection 3 (UPDRS3) and the Parkinson Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), respectively. We estimated cumulative Mn exposure in mg Mn/m3 -years using complete occupational histories and a job-exposure matrix. We investigated the cross-sectional association between cumulative Mn exposure and UPDRS3 score, and the UPDRS3 score and PDQ-39, adjusting for age, using linear regression. RESULTS: Participants' mean age was 41.8 years (range, 21-67 years); 97.3% were male. Estimated mean cumulative Mn exposure at the time of examination was 5.4 mg Mn/m3 -years, with a mean of 14.0 years working in a Mn mine. The mean UPDRS3 score was 10.1 and 25.7% of the workers had a UPDRS3 score greater than or equal to 15. There was a U-shaped dose-response relation between cumulative Mn exposure and UPDRS3 score, with a positive association up to 15 mg Mn/m3 -years of exposure and an inverse association thereafter. Greater UPDRS3 scores were associated with poorer self-reported QoL. CONCLUSION: In this cohort of employed Mn mine workers, parkinsonian signs were common and were associated with both estimated cumulative Mn exposure and poorer QoL.

PubMed ID: 31647574 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adult; Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Manganese/toxicity*; Middle Aged; Miners; Occupational Diseases/chemically induced*; Occupational Diseases/epidemiology*; Occupational Exposure/adverse effects*; Parkinsonian Disorders/chemically induced*; Parkinsonian Disorders/epidemiology*; Quality of Life*; South Africa/epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires

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