Comparison of severe on‐farm injuries to older and younger persons in New South Wales (2012‐2016)

Abstract

Objectives To assess and compare rates of severe on‐farm injury for older (> 50 years) and younger (15‐49 years) cohorts, on NSW farms. Design Descriptive retrospective epidemiological study of the New South Wales Trauma Registry (Institute of Trauma and Injury Management ‐ ITIM) for persons injured on a farm. Setting New South Wales, Australia. Participants Cases involving persons (≥15 years), with data on the NSW Trauma Registry (2012‐16). Main outcome measures Comparison of injury rates and severity between younger (15‐49 years) and older (50+ years) cohorts over the 2012‐16 period based on Injury Severity Scores (ISS). Results Older males are injured at a rate that is roughly 18% higher than younger males and 13% higher than the overall injury rate. Older individuals also have significantly longer hospital stays post‐injury (P = 0.01), with this being most pronounced for older men (P < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in ISS demonstrated between the age cohorts (P = 0.64), except for younger women having higher median ISS than their older female counterparts (P = 0.02). Conclusion Overall, the general trends displayed support the contention that older males are more likely to incur a severe on‐farm injury than their younger counterparts. This provides support for a preventative focus targeting older farmers in NSW.

Injury, Musculoskeletal Symptoms, and Stress as a Function of Aging in Agricultural Operators in the Central United States

“…Our study does not support previous findings that younger and older farmers were at greater at risk of injury than those in their middle years (Brison & Pickett, 1991;Lewis et al, 1998;Lyman et al, 1999;Walker & Lower, 2021). However, if the relationship between age and injury is not linear, and a changepoint exists, then associations will vary by the classification coding used to summarize the age variable.…”

“…In contrast, dairy and beef operators younger than 30 and older than 70 were at greater risk of injury than those between 30 and 70 years of age in an Eastern Ontario study (Brison & Pickett, 1991). Farmers younger than 55 years were at greater risk of injury in Iowa (Lewis et al, 1998), while older farmers were at greater risk in Alabama and Mississippi (Lyman et al, 1999) and New South Wales Australia (Walker et al, 2021).…”