Farm work-related asthma among US primary farm operators, 2011 farm and ranch safety survey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Mazurek JM ; Rodman CM ; Schleiff, Patricia L. ; White GE
• Description:
  Review of population-based studies estimates that 17% of adult asthma is attributable to workplace exposures. However, work-related asthma is often underdiagnosed. Farm-related exposures have been shown to cause or aggravate asthma among farmers. Limited information is available on the prevalence of asthma and asthma in relation to farm work among primary farm operators. Therefore, we estimated the prevalence of asthma and the proportion of asthma related to work on the farm among US primary farm operators using data from 2011 Farm and Ranch Safety Survey (FRSS). Operators were determined to have current asthma if they have ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they had asthma and still have asthma. Operators with current asthma were determined to have asthma related to work on the farm if they have ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that their asthma was related to their work on the farm. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported an estimated 2.2 million farm operations were actively farming in 2011 in the United States. Data from the 2011 FRSS found most primary farm operators were aged 40-64 years (58.2%) and males (83.6%). An estimated 5.0% of operators had current asthma. Of these, 15.1% had asthma related to work on the farm. Among operators with asthma related to work on the farm, 26.2% were located in the North, 16.7% had a second job, 41.1% managed farms with >1,000 acres, and 32.2% managed farms with a value of sales >/=$100,000. This study addressed the National Occupational Research Agenda surveillance goal for the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing sector by providing information on asthma prevalence among primary farm operators and identifying areas for future studies. These results add to the limited information about the prevalence of asthma and asthma related to work on the farm among primary farm operators. Future studies should examine potential workplace exposures associated with asthma development among primary farm operators. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Asthma Asthma, Occupational Farmers Lung Lung Diseases Men Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Women Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Bronchial-asthma Exposure-levels Humans Pulmonary-disorders Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Statistical-analysis Surveillance Work-environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044516
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2014 Jun; 19(2):234
• Contact Point Address:
  Patricia L. Schleiff, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
• Email:
  pls1@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7f51f00e4b1a6cce460581b94246198c557b79aacf492e6287b8a307dad203f76658cdfea9dcee12d302debba85577bf046994cdc78af395ea920cdc86ba5cf7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200202/cdc_200202_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 70.80 KB ]