Risk factors for work-related injury among male farmers in Iowa: a prospective cohort study.

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. We examined the work-related injury rate and risk factors among 290 Iowa male principal farm operators using a population-based, prospective study. Baseline data were collected between 1991 and 1994, and injury events were surveyed in the fall of 1995. Cumulative incidence of farmwork-related injury during the previous year was 10.5%. We found that depressive symptoms (odds ratio, 3.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 9.99) and the number of hours working with animals (odds ratio, 2.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 4.44) were associated with the incidence of farmwork-related injuries.

Respiratory symptoms: associations with pesticides, silos, and animal confinement in the Iowa Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project.

BACKGROUND: Farmers are at risk for airways diseases resulting from exposures which include organic agents and chemicals on the farm. Few data on airways disease and farm exposures are available from population-based studies. The Iowa Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project provided the opportunity to assess associations between symptoms of airway disease and several farm exposures, including pesticides, grain dust, animal confinement, and exposures from silos, in a population-based study. METHODS: A stratified two-stage cluster sample was used to provide a representative farmer sample from the state. Participants provided questionnaire responses concerning demographic, respiratory symptoms, smoking, and exposure information. Associations between farm exposures and airways disease symptoms were assessed in the 385 farmer participants using chi(2) analysis and logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and smoking. RESULTS: The most frequently reported respiratory symptoms were flu-like symptoms in connection with dusty work (22%), dyspnea (21%), and phlegm (15%). Current smoking was uncommon (13%). Among farmers, applying pesticides to livestock was associated with significantly increased odds of phlegm (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.02-3.57), chest ever wheezy (OR = 3.92, 95% CI 1.76-8.72), and flu-like symptoms (OR = 2.93, 95% CI 1.69-5.12) in models adjusting for age and smoking. Conventional vertical silos were significantly associated with increased odds of chest ever wheezy (OR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.23-6.12) and flu-like symptoms (OR = 2.40, 95% CI 1.31-4.37). There were also significant associations between several respiratory symptoms and the presence of animal confinement facilities on the farm. CONCLUSIONS: The association between insecticide application to livestock and symptoms of airways disease is a new finding that could lead to further study of specific airway responses and exposures associated with this practice. Results confirming associations between respiratory symptoms and conventional vertical silos may be important in future studies aimed at prevention and control of exposures in those farm buildings.

Application of a subjective health and safety rating system to Iowa farm operations.

A rapid, subjective health and safety assessment tool was developed and applied to 121 farm operations visited during a cross-sectional, on-farm industrial hygiene (IH) study of the Iowa Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project (IFFHHSP). The study utilized a single field investigator who conducted visits of farm operations from August 1995 to July 1996. The farm operations visited were randomly selected from a stratified, two-stage cluster sample of Iowa farm operations. The tool developed and applied to each farm operation--the Site Rank System--was based on the average of scores assigned to four different farm characteristics, which we believed would predict the health and safety status of the farm operations. Two of these characteristics were based on an assessment of each farm's operator (operator attitude and operator practices) and the other two were based on weighted scores assigned to physical components of the farm operation (status of facilities and status of equipment). The Site Rank System was found to have been assigned consistently, but an analysis comparing the Site Rank System scores to initial in-depth medical and environmental data gathered from the visited farm operations via self-reported questionnaires showed little correlation with outcomes. However, self-reported injuries (11 total) which occurred to the principal farm operators of the farm operations visited during the on-farm IH study phase (August 1995 to July 1996) correlated with low Site Rank System scores.

Work-related injuries among Iowa farm operators: an analysis of the Iowa Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project.

In 1994, the Iowa Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Project carried out a two-stage, stratified, cluster survey of Iowa farms using a mail survey. With data from this representative sample of Iowa farmers, we examined the associations between farm-work-related injuries and possible risk factors for 390 principal farm operators. Forty (10.3%) of these operators reported being injured while doing farm work. We developed a logistic regression to assess associations between potential risk factors and injury. We found three factors significantly associated with injury: younger age (odds ratio [OR] = 3.1, confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-9.3), having an impairment or health problem that limits work (OR = 2.4, CI = 1.5-3.8), and hand or arm exposure to acids or alkalis (OR = 2.6, CI = 1.1-5.9). In the univariate analysis, safety training did not seem to protect farmers from injuries.

Exposure while applying industrial antimicrobial pesticides.

Forty-three assessments were made of dermal and/or inhalation chemical exposure while applying industrial antimicrobial pesticide products, either by manually pouring or pumping liquids or by pouring a solid (powder or flake) product. Inhalation exposure was assessed via a personal air sample but was usually below the chemical limit of detection. Dermal exposure outside work clothing and dermal deposition inside the clothing was assessed via dermal gauze dosimeters. While dosimeters at discrete body locations often received exposures below the limit of detection, one or more dosimeters on individual applicators almost always showed measurable exposure. The median measured dose was between 30% and 70% of the maximum credible summed dose calculated by assuming that each dosimeter showed either the level of measurable deposition or one-half of the detection limit at locations where the chemical was unmeasurable. Because of differences in settings and the low level of control implicit in these application processes, measurable dermal doses were highly variable. Mean measurable dose rates were near 3, 8, and 10 mg product/hr, and daily total deposited doses were 2, 3.5, and 5 mg of product for pouring and pumping liquids and for pouring solids, respectively. Although the effect of gloves cannot be directly determined, wearers of gloves had geometric mean hand total doses 155- to 290-fold less than those not wearing gloves. Similar to the statistics for agricultural pesticides, the dermal route of exposure for these industrial pesticides exceeds the inhalation route by 5X to 100X, depending on assumptions regarding nondetectable values.