Suicides Among Farmers in Three Southeastern States, 1990–1998

Details

• Personal Author:
  Browning SR ; McKnight RH ; Westneat SC
• Description:
  Several studies have documented higher rates of suicide among farmers in comparison to other occupational groups, both in the U.S. and internationally. The purpose of this study is to describe the epidemiology of farmer suicides in three southeastern states (Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina) during the nine-year period 1990-1998. Electronic death certificate data were obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics. Over the nine-year period, there were 590 deaths related to suicide (E-codes: 950-959) among farmers (occupation codes: 473, 474, 475, 477, and 479) in the states of Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The results of this study confirm the increased rate of suicide mortality among white male farmers in comparison to the total white male population in these three southern states. The increased rate of suicide was significantly elevated among farmers age 25-34 years (RR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.61-2.67) and among those age 75-84 (RR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.70-2.45) and age 85 years and older (RR: 2.67; 95% CI: 2.02-3.54) in comparison to the total white male population.The use of a firearm was the primary mechanism of death for the majority (86%) of the cases. Farmer suicide mortality rates in the southeastern U.S. are higher than in Midwestern states. The elevated rate of white male farmer suicides in North Carolina over this time period (35% higher age-adjusted suicide rate in comparison to South Carolina) suggests a need for further investigation to assess the individual, social, and economic factors that may explain this elevated rate. Interventions for the prevention of suicide need to be directed to older male farmers who consistently have higher suicide rates than similar males in other occupations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Aging Agriculture Farmers Men Mortality Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Age-factors Age-groups Agricultural-industry Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Agriculture Health-surveys Mortality-data Occupational-psychology Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Suicide Mortality

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• ISSN:
  1074-7583
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  461-472
• Volume:
  14
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034744
• Citation:
  J Agric Saf Health 2008 Oct; 14(4):461-472
• Contact Point Address:
  Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40504-9842
• Email:
  srbrown@email.uky.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Kentucky
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:74ecbc537c88f5524936bbf61cba2a87224807501c378b4e2f2e72d6433ab4ba3f287100f1e6c9ae3efad6b38b77b108dee0aeabf3255b1e0bf322bfa69222fd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186837/cdc_186837_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 154.54 KB ]