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Self‐reported symptoms of neurotoxicity and agricultural injuries among Ohio cash‐grain farmers
Author(s) -
Atrubin David,
Wilkins J.R.,
Crawford J. Mac,
Bean T.L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20172
Subject(s) - medicine , environmental health , logistic regression , odds ratio , occupational safety and health , cash , finance , pathology , economics
Abstract Background In 1993, the Ohio Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Program (OFFHHSP) was initiated to assess the health status of cash‐grain farmers and their families. The objective of this study was to examine the postulated relationship between symptoms of neurotoxicity and risk of agriculture‐related injury among Ohio cash‐grain farmers. Methods A reanalysis of the data from a previously published case‐control study of cash‐grain farmers [Crawford et al. (1998) Am J Ind Med 34:588–599] was performed. The Principal Operator (PO) of each farm was asked to complete a self‐administered questionnaire which included items about injuries experienced during the past year. A section of the questionnaire contained a 24‐item instrument (“Q24”) that queried symptoms of neurotoxicity experienced during the previous 12 months. Design‐based multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate associations between neuropsychological subsets (“domains”) of the 24‐item instrument and injury risk among the white male POs (who accounted for >99% of all POs). Results Significantly elevated odds ratios (ORs) were found in 8 of 11 domains. POs answering in the affirmative to the single item “Have you been bothered by lack of coordination or loss of balance?” were 3.12 times more likely to have reported an injury than POs responding negatively (95% CI 1.68–5.81). Conclusions Farmers with higher scores on several Q24 domains, and for particular questionnaire items, appear to be at increased risk of agricultural injury. Am. J. Ind. Med. 47:538–549, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.