Health Indicators of a Cohort of Midwest Farmers: Health Outcomes of Participants in the Certified Safe Farm Program

Details

• Personal Author:
  Donham KJ ; Kelly KM ; Meppelink SM ; Rohlman DS
• Description:
  Occupational illness, injury, and fatality rates for those working in production agriculture are higher than in any other industry. A potential risk factor contributing to occupational injuries across all industries is acute or chronic co-morbidity (e.g., obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol), and related health issues that increase the risk for an occupational injury or illness. These chronic health conditions have been associated not only with increased risk for injuries, but also higher health-care costs, and greater absenteeism. Certified Safe Farm (CSF) is a comprehensive intervention program aimed to reduce occupational health and safety hazards and to promote general health among farmers. Prior publications have described CSF program efforts to reduce hazardous exposures, disabling injuries, organic dust toxic syndrome, occupational health-care costs, and to increase positive occupational health behaviors. This paper reports on the general health indicators of a cohort of 438 Iowa farm owner/operators enrolled in the CSF program. Overall, this study found that the farming population in Iowa has higher body mass index (BMI), but lower total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and lower prevalence of hypertension compared to the general population. There was evidence that the combination of high blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI were related to increased injury rates. Poor self-reported health status was also related to increased injuries but was not related to clinical health indicators. The CSF intervention led to improvements on health outcomes, particularly among those in the 35 to 49 age group. Little research has focused on the individual's general health status as a predictor of risk of occupational injury. This study suggests the need for additional research and interventions integrating occupational safety and health prevention along with health promotion. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Agriculture Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Farmers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Agricultural Workers Author Keywords: Agriculture Blood Pressure Farmer Health Status Health Effects Hypertension Injuries Intervention Obesity Occupational Injuries Total Worker Health TWH

  More +
• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  228-238
• Volume:
  24
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055218
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2019 Jul; 24(3):228-238
• Contact Point Address:
  Kelley J. Donham, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52240
• Email:
  kelley-donham@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Services ; Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ac2fd42a8238bc1388a6f0e5cec3a7a0abfdb25b2b53485b463bb9695a1ffcc5d453229fa1a31140fc1f1b25fe1d03bb7d9d4a4de5e6352d8a190ed1493152d9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217571/cdc_217571_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.24 MB ]