Agricultural injuries among older Kentucky farmers: The farm family health and hazard surveillance study

• Published in: American journal of industrial medicine 1998-04, Vol.33 (4), p.341-353
• Main Authors: Browning, Steven R., Truszczynska, Helena, Reed, Deborah, McKnight, Robert H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accidents, Occupational - statistics & numerical data; Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Agricultural Workers' Diseases - epidemiology; Agricultural Workers' Diseases - etiology; Agriculture; Animals; Cattle; Confidence Intervals; epidemiology; Female; Humans; Incidence; injuries; Injury Severity Score; Kentucky - epidemiology; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; occupational risk; Population Surveillance; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Factors; safety; Sex Distribution; surveillance
• ISSN: 0271-3586; 1097-0274
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0274(199804)33:4<341::AID-AJIM4>3.0.CO;2-X

This population‐based study reports the cumulative incidence of agricultural injuries during a 1‐year period in a sample of 998 farmers aged 55 years and older living in Kentucky. A total of 98 farm‐related injuries were reported among 88 older farmers for a crude injury rate of 9.03 injured farmers per 100 farmers (95% confidence interval (CI) = 7.03–11.03) over a 1‐year period. The leading external causes of farm injury were falls (24.9%), machinery (22.5%), wood‐cutting (14.6%), and animal‐related events (14.3%). Farmers working on farms with beef cattle (alone) (odds ratio = 1.90; 95% CI = 1.02–3.55) or farms with beef cattle and tobacco (odds ratio = 2.15; 95% CI = 1.00–4.59) had a statistically significant increased risk for a farm‐related injury. Farmers reporting a prior injury that limited their ability to farm were at increased risk for a farm‐related injury. Approaches to using farm injury surveillance data for injury control programs in the state are discussed. Am. J. Ind. Med. 33:341–353, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.