Gender differences in respiratory health outcomes among farming cohorts around the globe: findings from the AGRICOH consortium

Jonathan Fix, Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Isabelle Baldi, Mathilde Boulanger, Soo Cheng, Sandra Cortes, Jean-Charles Dalphin, Mohamed Aqiel Dalvie, Bruno Degano, Jeroen Douwes, Wijnand Eduard, Grethe Elholm, Catterina Ferreccio, Anne-Helen Harding, Mohamed Jeebhay, Kevin M. Kelly, Hans Kromhout, Ewan MacFarlane, Cara Nichole Maesano, Diane Catherine MitchellHussein Mwanga, Saloshni Naidoo, Beyene Negatu, Dorothy Ngajilo, Karl-Christian Nordby, Christine G. Parks, Marc B. Schenker, Aesun Shin, Torben Sisgaard, Malcolm Sim, Thibaud Soumagne, Peter Thorne, Keun-Young Yoo, Jane A. Hoppin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: Respiratory hazards of farming have been identified for centuries, with little focus on gender differences. We used data from the AGRICOH consortium, a collective of prospective cohorts of agricultural workers, to assess respiratory disease prevalence among adults in 18 cohorts representing over 200,000 farmers, farm workers, and their spouses from six continents. Methods: Cohorts collected data between 1992 and 2016 and ranged in size from 200 to >128,000 individuals; 44% of participants were female. Farming practices varied from subsistence farming to large-scale industrial agriculture. All cohorts provided respiratory outcome information for their cohort based on their study definitions. The majority of outcomes were based on selfreport using standard respiratory questionnaires; the greatest variability in assessment methods was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results: For all three respiratory symptoms (cough, phlegm, and wheeze), the median prevalence in men was higher than in women, with the greatest difference for phlegm (17% vs. 10%). For asthma, women had a higher prevalence (7.8% vs 6.5%), with the difference associated with allergic asthma. The relative proportion of allergic asthma varied among cohorts. In two of eight cohorts for women and two of seven cohorts for men, allergic asthma was more common than non-allergic asthma. Conclusions: These findings indicate that respiratory outcomes are common among farmers around the world despite differences in agricultural production. As women in the general population are at higher risk of asthma, exploring gender differences in occupational studies is critical for a deeper understanding of respiratory disease among agricultural workers.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97-108
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Agromedicine
Volume26
Issue number2
Early online date17 Mar 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Farmers
  • Respiratory Health
  • Gender
  • Farmworkers
  • Occupational Exposure

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