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Rheumatoid Arthritis among Women in the Agricultural Health Study: Risk Associated with Farming Activities and Exposures
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Rheumatoid Arthritis among Women in the Agricultural Health Study: Risk Associated with Farming Activities and Exposures

Anneclaire J. De Roos, Glinda S. Cooper, Michael C. Alavanja and Dale P. Sandler
Annals of epidemiology, v 15(10), pp 762-770
2005
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.08.001
PMID: 16257361
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Autoimmune Diseases Autoimmunity Farming Occupation Pesticides Rheumatoid Arthritis
Farming has been associated with increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in some studies, but specific causes have not been identified. We studied risk factors for RA in the Agricultural Health Study, a cohort of over 57,000 licensed pesticide applicators and their spouses. We used a nested case-control design, limited to female participants. Physician-confirmed cases ( n = 135) were matched to five controls each ( n = 675) by birth date. We used logistic regression, adjusting for birth date and state to examine associations, as estimated by odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Risk of RA was not associated with mixing or applying pesticides overall or with any pesticide class, nor did it vary by number of days or years of use. Certain pesticides were associated with small nonsignificantly increased risks, including lindane (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 0.6–5.0). RA risk was associated with welding (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 0.8–5.4), albeit imprecisely, but not with solvents or sunlight. We did not identify any strong risk factors for RA. Because of the severe disability associated with this relatively common disease, further investigation into causes is warranted both in the Agricultural Health Study and elsewhere.

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13 Record Views
45 citations in Web of Science
52 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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