Effects of Temperatures and Heatwaves on Occupational Injuries in the Agricultural Sector in Italy

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2023-02, Vol.20 (4), p.2781
• Main Authors: Di Blasi, Chiara, Marinaccio, Alessandro, Gariazzo, Claudio, Taiano, Luca, Bonafede, Michela, Leva, Antonio, Morabito, Marco, Michelozzi, Paola, De' Donato, Francesca K, On Behalf Of The Worklimate Collaborative Group
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age groups; Agricultural industry; Agriculture; Air temperature; Analysis; Climate change; Climate change adaptation; Climatic changes; Estimates; Farmworkers; Gender; Hansen, Al; Health risks; Heat; High temperature; Injuries; Injury analysis; Injury prevention; Manual workers; Occupational accidents; Occupational exposure; Occupational health; Occupational safety; Professional workers; Regions; Risk; Self employment; Summer; Temperature; Temperature effects; Trends; Work-related injuries; Workers; Workers compensation
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20042781

The effects of heat on health have been well documented, while less is known about the effects among agricultural workers. Our aim is to estimate the effects and impacts of heat on occupational injuries in the agricultural sector in Italy. Occupational injuries in the agricultural sector from the Italian national workers' compensation authority (INAIL) and daily mean air temperatures from Copernicus ERA5-land for a five-year period (2014-2018) were considered. Distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM) were used to estimate the relative risk and attributable injuries for increases in daily mean air temperatures between the 75th and 99th percentile and during heatwaves. Analyses were stratified by age, professional qualification, and severity of injury. A total of 150,422 agricultural injuries were considered and the overall relative risk of injury for exposure to high temperatures was 1.13 (95% CI: 1.08; 1.18). A higher risk was observed among younger workers (15-34 years) (1.23 95% CI: 1.14; 1.34) and occasional workers (1.25 95% CI: 1.03; 1.52). A total of 2050 heat-attributable injuries were estimated in the study period. Workers engaged in outdoor and labour-intensive activities in the agricultural sector are at greater risk of injury and these results can help target prevention actions for climate change adaptation.