Health risks related to crop farming in Europe

Agricultural workers suffer from many work-related illnesses. Some of the most common include musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). These types of disorders are caused by diverse factors. This research study intends to demonstrate the worldwide concern for MSD in agriculture. The objective is to compile and recognize in detail all the available studies on musculoskeletal disorders in agriculture developed in the world and by countries in the last 26 years. The Web of Science database was used for this purpose. Two hundred and fifty-six documents were found, of which 221 were finally selected for inclusion in the study. The studies span a period from 1995 to 2020. Of these, studies that were linked to improving sustainability stood out. Most of the research of this type emanates from developed countries. The conclusions to be drawn are that few countries pay attention to this area and that preventive measures are insufficient. Mechanization and improvement in work methods and organization are methods to reduce risks.

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“…To reduce the risk of MSD, more information is needed on the risks with different agricultural tasks in different crops (Germany) [245].…”

Section: Developed Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Musculoskeletal Disorders in Agriculture: A Review from Web of Science Core Collection

et al. 2021

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“…The work environment of farmers is often characterised by a high workload, long working hours, solitary work, heavy physical labor and a poor work-life balance [6,7]. Research has shown that farmers in several countries experience a variety of health problems, often with epidemiological characteristics that differ from other occupations [8][9][10]. Working farmers have been found to be disproportionately affected by occupational injuries [11,12], chronic musculoskeletal problems [13,14], chronic respiratory conditions [15][16][17][18], depression, anxiety and suicide [19][20][21][22][23][24], and a general reduced quality of life in older age [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cohort profile: The FarmMERGE project—Merging human and animal databases to investigate the relationship between farmer and livestock health and welfare. The HUNT Study

Torske,

Steen,

Ursin

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Stockmanship is an important determinant for good animal welfare and health. The goal of the FarmMERGE project is to investigate the associations between farmer health and work environment, and the health, productivity and welfare of their livestock. We merged several livestock industry databases with a major total population-based health study in Norway (The Trøndelag Health Study 2017–2019 (HUNT4)). This paper describes the project’s collection and merging of data, and the cohort of farmers and farms that were identified as a result of our registry merge. There were 56,042 participants of HUNT4 (Nord-Trøndelag County participants only, participation rate: 54.0%). We merged a list of HUNT4 participants whose self-reported main occupation was “farmer” (n = 2,407) with agricultural databases containing production and health data from sheep, swine, dairy and beef cattle from 2017–2020. The Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities was used as an intermediary step to achieve a link between the farmer and farming enterprise data. We identified 816 farmers (89.5% male, mean age 51.3 years) who had roles in 771 farming enterprises with documented animal production. The cohort included 675 unique farmer-farm combinations in cattle production, 139 in sheep, and 125 in swine. We linked at least one HUNT4 participant to approximately 63% of the dairy farms, 53% of the beef cattle farms, 30% of the sheep farms, and 38% of the swine farms in Nord-Trøndelag County in the 2017–2019 period. Using existing databases may be an efficient way of collecting large amounts of data for research, and using total population-based human health surveys may decrease response bias. However, the quality of the resulting research data will depend on the quality of the databases used, and thorough knowledge of the databases is required.

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“…Agricultural work has numerous risks [1]. In the United States and Canada, farming continues to be one of the most dangerous occupations [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing impairment among Korean farmers, based on a 3-year audiometry examination

Lee

2019

Ann Agric Environ Med.

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Introduction and objective. Work noise exposure among farmers can cause hearing loss. Farmers are exposed to hazardous noise from equipment and domestic animals, and experience high rates of noise-induced hearing loss. The aim of our study was to evaluate the hearing thresholds of farmers in Korea. This study is the first to evaluate hearing impairment in Korean farmers nationwide. There have been few studies that have performed audiometric testing to measure hearing impairment at the national level in Korea. Materials and method. Through the Farm Work Safety Model Project among the 40 villages in which inhabitants received health checkups from 2006-2008, 2,027 people from 35 villages were targeted (957 people in 16 villages in 2006, 436 people in five villages in 2007, and 634 people in 14 villages in 2008) and underwent pure tone audiometry tests. 2,027 people from 35 villages underwent pure tone audiometry tests through the Farm Work Safety Model Project. The tests were conducted using a portable audiometer, and air conduction thresholds were determined. Results. Hearing impairment at 3kHz and above was more prevalent in men than in women. The prevalence of moderateto-profound hearing impairment was 19.6% in the total study population and increased with age. Conclusions. It is proposed that the high prevalence rate of farmers' hearing impairment may be due to excessive workplace noise. To manage farmers' hearing health, precise evaluations of farmers' hearing acuity and noise exposure on farms should be conducted. This study might be a stepping-stone to protect farmers' hearing health.

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Health risks related to crop farming in Europe

Cited by 4 publications

References 40 publications

Musculoskeletal Disorders in Agriculture: A Review from Web of Science Core Collection

Musculoskeletal Disorders in Agriculture: A Review from Web of Science Core Collection

Cohort profile: The FarmMERGE project—Merging human and animal databases to investigate the relationship between farmer and livestock health and welfare. The HUNT Study

Hearing impairment among Korean farmers, based on a 3-year audiometry examination

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