Risk factors for heat-related illness in Washington crop workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blank KN ; Krenz J ; Spector JT
• Description:
  Crop workers are at high risk of heat-related illness (HRI) from internal heat generated by heavy physical work, particularly when laboring in hot and humid conditions. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for HRI symptoms in Washington crop workers using an audio computer-assisted self-interview (A-CASI) instrument that has undergone reliability and validity evaluation. A cross-sectional A-CASI survey of 97 crop workers in Washington State was conducted during the summer of 2013. Potential HRI risk factors in demographic, training, work, hydration, clothing, health, and environmental domains were selected a priori for evaluation. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for self-reported symptoms associated with heat strain and HRI (dizziness/light-headedness or heavy sweating) experienced at work in hot conditions. An increase in age was associated with a lower odds of HRI symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87-0.98). Piece rate compared with hourly payment (OR = 6.20; 95% CI = 1.11-34.54) and needing to walk for more than 3 minutes to get to the toilet, compared with less than 3 minutes (OR = 4.86; 95% CI = 1.18-20.06), were associated with a higher odds of HRI symptoms. In this descriptive study of risk factors for HRI symptoms in Washington crop workers, decreased age (and less work experience), piece rate pay, and longer distance to the toilet were associated with self-reported HRI symptoms. Modifiable workplace factors should be considered in HRI prevention efforts that are evaluated using objective measures in representative working populations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Agriculture Farmers Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Humidity Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Age-factors Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Agricultural Workers Climatic-conditions Crop Workers Farmworkers Health-surveys Heat-exposure Heat-related Illness Heat-stress Heat-stroke Hot-environments Rest-periods Risk Factors

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• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  349-359
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046557
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2015 Jul; 20(3):349-359
• Contact Point Address:
  June T. Spector, MD, MPH, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite 100, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
• Email:
  spectj@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4651fea5f1aa1a3484cc1d4bbf7289688650b07dee7937e891c0199fba6e838d92bd6817d1bd31d54790640406a09b3efe08f686cc5d17a997320f5384085981
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201572/cdc_201572_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 186.71 KB ]