Rheumatoid Arthritis in Agricultural Health Study Spouses: Associations with Pesticides and Other Farm Exposures

Parks, Christine G.; Hoppin, Jane A.; Roos, Anneclaire J. De; Costenbader, Karen H.; Alavanja, Michael C.R.; Sandler, Dale P.

doi:10.1289/ehp129

Cited by 50 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(70 reference statements)

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“…The association of chemical fertilisers with RA in the present study corroborates our earlier findings in female spouses 13. A previous case-control study also reported an association with fertilisers and RA in men, but did not specify the type of fertiliser 12.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The observed associations of RA with solvents and painting confirm results from our previous analysis of RA in female spouses 13. Organic solvents have been related to other types of autoimmune diseases, but evidence is limited for RA 32.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…A previous study suggested RA in men was associated with handling forage 12. Together, these results suggest a possible role for organic dust exposures in developing RA, with differential effects depending on the timing of exposure, extending our previous findings in female spouses suggesting early life plus adult livestock exposure may be protective for RA 13. Most applicators had a childhood farm residence, so the positive associations of RA with animal-associated tasks in older participants are notable.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…We previously described associations of incident RA with specific pesticides in male farmers and female spouses in the AHS 13 19. In the female spouses, associations with RA were also seen for several regular tasks, including applying chemical fertilisers, painting and use of solvents for cleaning 13. Here, we extend this research to investigate the relationship of field work and farm tasks with developing RA during up to 20 years follow-up cohort, in a larger sample of incident cases, including new cases from the most recent follow-up and cases identified in males and in farmers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

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Farming tasks and the development of rheumatoid arthritis in the agricultural health study

Parks

Meyer²,

Freeman

et al. 2019

Occup Environ Med

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ObjectivesFarming has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Some studies have evaluated the effects of pesticides, but other agricultural exposures may also affect immune response.MethodsWe investigated non-pesticide agricultural exposures in relation to RA in licensed pesticide applicators (n=27 175, mostly male farmers) and their spouses (n=22 231) in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) cohort (1993–1997) who completed at least one follow-up survey through 2015. Incident RA cases (n=229 applicators and 249 spouses) were identified based on self-report confirmed by use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or medical records. Hazard Ratios (HRs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for applicator status, state, smoking, education and specific pesticide use, allowing estimates to vary by median age when hazards assumptions were not met.ResultsOverall, RA was associated with regularly applying chemical fertilisers (HR=1.50; 95% CI 1.11 to 2.02), using non-gasoline solvents (HR=1.40; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.80), and painting (HR=1.26; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.59). In older applicators (>62 years), RA was associated with driving combines (HR=2.46; 95% CI 1.05 to 5.78) and milking cows (HR=2.56; 95% CI 1.01 to 6.53). In younger participants (≤62 years), RA was inversely associated with raising animals as well as crops (HR=0.68; 95% CI 0.51 to 0.89 vs crops only). Associations with specific crops varied by age: some (eg, hay) were inversely associated with RA in younger participants, while others (eg, alfalfa) were associated with RA in older participants.ConclusionThese findings suggest several agricultural tasks and exposures may contribute to development of RA.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

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Farming tasks and the development of rheumatoid arthritis in the agricultural health study

Parks

Meyer²,

Freeman

et al. 2019

Occup Environ Med

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“…Early research in the Agricultural Health Study cohort showed no association of RA in women reporting use of DDT, but the study included only 135 cases (mostly prevalent) (44). Subsequent analyses in the Agricultural Health Study showed lifetime DDT use was associated with incident RA, primarily in women who had grown up on a farm (45). Women with a childhoodfarm history may have had earlier, longer, or more frequent pesticide exposures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Childhood Residential and Agricultural Pesticide Exposures in Relation to Adult-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis in Women

Parks

D’Aloisio

Sandler

2017

American Journal of Epidemiology

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Farming and pesticide exposure may influence risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); the role of early-life pesticide exposure is unknown. The Sister Study includes a US national cohort of women aged 35-74 years (enrolled 2004-2009); we examined childhood pesticide exposure in women in this cohort with adult-onset RA. Cases (n = 424) were compared with 48,919 noncases. Data included pesticide use at the longest childhood residence through age 14 years, farm residence of at least 12 months with agricultural pesticide exposure through age 18 years, and maternal farm experience. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were adjusted for age, race or ethnicity, education, smoking, and childhood socioeconomic factors. Cases with RA reported more frequent and direct (personal) residential pesticide use in childhood (for infrequent/indirect pesticide use, odds ratio (OR) = 1.1; for frequent/direct use, OR = 1.8; P for trend = 0.013). Compared with women without residential farm history, odds of having RA increased for those reporting a childhoodonly farm residence with personal exposure to pesticides used on crops (OR = 1.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 2.9) or livestock (OR = 2.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.2, 3.3). Our findings suggest adult-onset RA may be related to childhood exposure to residential and agricultural pesticides, and support further investigations of lifetime pesticide use in RA. autoimmune diseases; early life; insecticides; pesticides; women's health Abbreviations: aOR, age-adjusted odds ratio; DDT, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.

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Immunotoxicology in Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Exposures

2023

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Immunotoxicology is the study of drugs and chemicals that produce adverse effects on the immune system. Adverse immune effects include suppression, leading to compromised ability to fight infections, or enhancement, which could be involved in hypersensitivity (allergy) or autoimmunity. It has been appreciated for hundreds of years that diseases are associated with various occupations, such as respiratory diseases in those working with grains, coal, metals, or animals. We now understand that many of these occupational diseases are the result of an unregulated immune response to a specific agent. Similarly, occupational exposures to various chemicals can produce dermatitis, again due in part to unregulated immune responses in the skin. Additionally, occupational chemical exposures have been demonstrated to induce immune suppression. This chapter provides an overview of the immune system, a synopsis of standard assays to evaluate immunotoxic potential of occupational chemicals, and descriptions of effects of several occupational immunotoxicants with a focus on human exposures and doses. Consideration is given to current data gaps and potential use of novel technologies to more precisely define effects and mechanisms of occupational immunotoxicants.

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Rheumatoid Arthritis in Agricultural Health Study Spouses: Associations with Pesticides and Other Farm Exposures

Cited by 50 publications

References 51 publications

Farming tasks and the development of rheumatoid arthritis in the agricultural health study

Farming tasks and the development of rheumatoid arthritis in the agricultural health study

Childhood Residential and Agricultural Pesticide Exposures in Relation to Adult-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis in Women

Immunotoxicology in Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Exposures

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