According to new research, people with prolonged exposure to fumes from solvents at work may be at a very high risk for memory and cognitive issues in their retirement years.

These findings are of particular importance considering how common exposure to solvents is, particularly in industrialized nations such as the United States. As the age of retirement continues to increase, the amount of time workers are exposed to such solvents increases as well.

Study author Erika L. Sabbath, ScD, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues analyzed 2,143 retirees from the French national utility company. The workers’ exposure to solvents such as those found in paint, glue and degreasers was analyzed.

The researchers discovered that individuals with high, recent exposure to these solvents were at the highest risk for deficits in thinking and memory.

Participants in the study took a series of tests of their thinking skills and memory approximately 10 years after retiring. Of these participants, 59 percent showed impairment in one to three of the eight tests conducted, and 23 percent showed impairment in four or more tests.

“What was really striking was that we also saw some cognitive problems in those who had been highly exposed much longer ago, up to 50 years before testing. This suggests that time may not fully lessen the effect of solvent exposure on some memory and cognitive skills when lifetime exposure is high,” Sabbath said in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in the Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.