Chronic low back pain among tobacco farmers in southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Despite tobacco farming involving intensive manual labor, chronic low back pain (CLBP) prevalence and associated factors are unknown among this occupational group. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in southern Brazil. A random sample of tobacco farmers was interviewed. Socioeconomic and individual characteristics, occupational tasks, workloads, and comorbidities were investigated. Chronic low back pain prevalence was described in relation to independent variables, and associations were examined with Poisson regression. RESULTS: Chronic low back pain prevalence was 8·4%. Increasing age, rearing two or more species of livestock (PR 1·65), exposure to tasks that require heavy physical exertion (PR 2·00), working in awkward postures (PR 1·36), green tobacco sickness (GTS) (PR 1·63), pesticide poisoning (PR 2·37), and minor psychiatric disorders (PR 2·55) were associated with CLBP. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that CLBP is a relevant health problem among tobacco farmers and highlights understudied risk factors such as pesticide poisoning and GTS. Policies to minimize exposure to physiological and chemical workloads in tobacco planting to prevent CLBP are needed. Health professionals should be trained to diagnose and prevent acute low back pain episodes and thus prevent/minimize limitations and disabilities due to CLBP.

Green tobacco sickness among tobacco farmers in southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Despite being the second largest tobacco producer in the world, Brazil does not have prevalence studies about green tobacco sickness (GTS). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of Brazilian tobacco workers. The sample was described according to socio-demographic, behavioral, and occupational variables. Gender-stratified multivariate analyses examined variables associated with GTS. RESULTS: GTS prevalence among men in the previous month was 6.6%, while among women it was 11.9%. Among men, age, being a non-smoker, hanging tobacco sticks in the barn, harvesting wet leaves, and exposure to physical exertion were risk factors for GTS. Among women, tying hands of tobacco, transporting bales, harvesting wet leaves, having had contact with pesticides, and exposure to physical exertion were positively associated with GTS. CONCLUSION: Research is required to improve methods for GTS screening, as well as the ability to distinguish GTS from pesticide poisoning. Health professionals should be trained to diagnose and treat GTS.

Estudo transversal sobre saúde mental de agricultores da Serra Gaúcha (Brasil) / A cross-sectional study about mental health of farm-workers

Objetivo: Considerando a escassez de estudos rurais de base populacional, buscou-se avaliar as associaçöes entre características do trabalho rural e a ocorrência de morbidade psiquiátrica menor - MPM. Métodos: Utilizando delineamento transversal, estudaram-se 1.282 agricultores de 446 estabelecimentos. As informaçöes foram coletadas por entrevista direta, a partir da percepçäo do trabalhador. O índice de Kappa foi adotado para controle de qualidade. Caracterizaram-se as condiçöes produtivas, dados sociodemográficos e indicadores de saúde mental. Resultados: A prevalência de MPM afetou 37,5 por cento dos agricultores. As prevalências foram maiores entre produtores de feijäo e menores entre os de maçä. Encontrou-se risco aumentado nos estabelecimentos de 26 a 50 ha, e risco reduzido associado à maior mecanizaçäo e aumento de escolaridade. A ocorrência de intoxicaçäo por agrotóxicos mostrou forte associaçäo com MPM, embora näo se possa definir a direçäo dessa associaçäo. Conclusöes: Os resultados alertam para a dimensäo dos problemas e para a urgência de medidas que visem a proteger a saúde dos agricultores