RESEARCH PAPER
Prevalence and risk factors for airway diseases in farmers-summary of results of the European Farmers' Project.
 
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1
Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
 
2
Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain
 
3
Institute for Hygiene and Applied Physiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
 
4
Department of Respiratory Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
 
5
Centre of Work-Related Diseases, Brunsbuttel, Germany
 
6
Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA
 
7
Institute of Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Behaviour of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine, Hanover, Germany
 
8
Research Centre Bygholm, Horsens, Denmark
 
9
Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Hamburg, Germany
 
10
Broomfields Hospital, Essex, United Kingdom
 
11
Hospital of Respiratory Diseases, Beelitz, Germany
 
 
Corresponding author
Katja Radon   

Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2002;9(2):207-213
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The aim of the European Farmers' Project was to determine prevalence and risk factors of respiratory diseases in farmers across Europe. A cross-sectional study in 7 centres was carried out. In the first stage of the study, nearly 8,000 farmers in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and Spain answered a standardised questionnaire on farming characteristics and respiratory symptoms. The second stage of the study included exposure assessment and lung function measurements in 4 of the centres. Within the group of farmers, pig farmers were at high risk of asthma-like syndrome as compared to farmers keeping other kinds of animals. Among plant farmers, greenhouse workers were at higher risk for symptoms of asthma. The prevalence of symptoms of allergies were significantly lower among animal farmers as compared to the population of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. In contrast, animal farmers had a significantly higher prevalence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis. The major risk factor for respiratory symptoms was shown to be ventilation of the animal houses and greenhouses. Intervention studies are now warranted to test the effectiveness of improved ventilation on respiratory health. The reasons for the low prevalence of allergic diseases among farmers are currently under study.
eISSN:1898-2263
ISSN:1232-1966
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