Mortality in the Agricultural Health Study, 1993-2007

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alavanja MCR ; Beane Freeman LE ; Blair, Austin ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Hines CJ ; Hoppin JA ; Kamel F ; Knott C ; Kullman, Greg J. ; London SJ ; Lubin JH ; Lynch CF ; Sandler DP ; Thomas KW ; Umbach DM ; Waggoner JK
• Description:
  Comparing agricultural cohorts with the general population is challenging because the general healthiness of farmers may mask potential adverse health effects of farming. Using data from the Agricultural Health Study, a cohort of 89,656 pesticide applicators and their spouses (N = 89, 656) in North Carolina and Iowa, the authors computed standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) comparing deaths from time of the enrollment (1993-1997) through 2007 to state-specific rates. To compensate for the cohort's overall healthiness, relative SMRs were estimated by calculating the SMR for each cause relative to the SMR for all other causes. In 1,198,129 person-years of follow-up, 6,419 deaths were observed. The all-cause mortality rate was less than expected (SMRapplicators = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.52, 0.55; SMRspouses = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.55). SMRs for all cancers, heart disease, and diabetes were significantly below 1.0. In contrast, applicators experienced elevated numbers of machine-related deaths (SMR = 4.15, 95% CI: 3.18, 5.31), motor vehicle nontraffic accidents (SMR = 2.80, 95% CI: 1.81, 4.14), and collisions with objects (SMR = 2.12, 95%CI: 1.25, 3.34). In the relative SMR analysis for applicators, the relative mortality ratio was elevated for lymphohematopoietic cancers, melanoma, and digestive system, prostate, kidney, and brain cancers. Among spouses, relative SMRs exceeded 1.0 for lymphohematopoietic cancers and malignancies of the digestive system, brain, breast, and ovary. Unintentional fatal injuries remain an important risk for farmers; mortality ratios from several cancers were elevated relative to other causes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Automobiles Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Family Farmers Hematopoietic System Insecticides Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety

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• Keywords:
  Accident-statistics Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Agriculture Cancer Cancer-rates Cardiovascular-disease Families Healthy Worker Effect Heart Hematopoietic-system Information-retrieval-systems Lymphatic-system Machine-operation Mortality Mortality-data Mortality-rates Motor-vehicles Pesticides Pesticides-and-agricultural-chemicals Statistical-analysis Surveillance-programs Traumatic-injuries Worker-health Wounds And Injuries

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• ISSN:
  0002-9262
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Maryland ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  71-83
• Volume:
  173
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038238
• Citation:
  Am J Epidemiol 2011 Jan; 173(1):71-83
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Jane A. Hoppin, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology Branch, MD A3-05, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2233
• Email:
  hoppin1@niehs.nih.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Epidemiology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:595e0084093393c1ffd4e76211d528a776d634f524352dcc357b99c8874249bc99e8e17887e49047de2bad4a77c18c66cca1bca90db9f29ba9e8ced580c64d5f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192011/cdc_192011_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 128.63 KB ]