Mortality and Morbidity in Agriculture in the United States

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rautiainen, Risto ; Reynolds S
• Description:
  This article summarizes the trends in agricultural injuries and illnesses in the past decade, as well as the needs for surveillance in the future. Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the U.S. The fatality rate in agriculture remained high (about 22/100,000 workers) through the 1990s. and tractors remained the leading source of death, causing approximately 300 fatalities each year. Non-fatal injuries and illnesses decreased in the employed agricultural worker population. There are no adequate injury and illness data for self-employed farmers and family members to show trends over time. The reported injury rates have been 0.5 to 16.6/100 workers, based on the source of information. Many studies have shown high rates of respiratory and musculoskeletal symptoms, hearing loss, and skin disorders in agriculture. The overall cancer rate is lower; however, certain cancers are elevated in farmers. Surveillance information has not improved significantly in the past decade; however, many studies have provided more insight into the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for injury and illness. Further efforts are needed to better define the populations at risk, including farmers and ranchers, family members, workers, migrant and seasonal workers, and others exposed to farm hazards. Fatalities are well documented, and it is important to continue existing surveillance in the future. Surveillance systems should be developed to collect information on agriculture-related non-fatal injuries and illnesses. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Ergonomics Farmers Morbidity Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Agricultural-chemicals Agricultural-industry Agricultural-machinery Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Agriculture Illness Injuries Injury Mortality-data Mortality-rates Mortality-surveys Tractors Traumatic-injuries

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• ISSN:
  1074-7583
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Iowa ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  259-276
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022344
• Citation:
  J Agric Saf Health 2002 Aug; 8(3):259-276
• Contact Point Address:
  Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City , Iowa 52242-5000
• Email:
  risto-rautiainen@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20000801
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20020731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4f066e4b651412f43b5417367b8046d8afabb6eb7596cd9cc08527680a001e8d2825331e816a366406d4f2b5ad42b28f444728986528121f66530a76d80052d7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199152/cdc_199152_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 82.78 KB ]