Objective In determine the effect of heat shock protein 70-hom gene (hsp70-hom) polymorphism on the neurobehavioral function of workers exposed to vanadium. Methods Workers from the vanadium products and chemical industry were recruited by cluster sampling. Demographic data and exposure information were collected using a questionnaire. Neurobehavioral function was assessed by Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery. The hsp70-hom genotype was detected by restricted fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR). A neurobehavioral index (NBI) was formulated through principal component analysis. Results Workers with a T/C genotype had worse performance in average reaction time, visual retention, digital span (backward), Santa Ana aiming (non-habitual hand), pursuit aiming (right points, total points), digit symbol and NBI score than others (PPOR=4.577,pOR of T/C genotype further increased to 7.777 (Phsp70-hom T/C genotype and low education level.
