Farm work exposure of older male farmers in Saskatchewan

• Published in: American journal of industrial medicine Vol. 53; no. 7; pp. 706 - 715
• Main Authors: Voaklander, Donald C., Dosman, James A., Hagel, Louise M., Warsh, Joel, Pickett, William
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.07.2010; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Accidents, Occupational; Age; Age Factors; Aged; aging; Agriculture; Biological and medical sciences; Drugs; farm; farms; health; Humans; Injuries; injury; Male; males; Medical sciences; medication; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Occupational Exposure; Occupational Health; Occupational medicine; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Risk Factors; Saskatchewan; Surveys and Questionnaires; Winter; Working conditions; Workload; Canada; Saskatchewan; North America; America; Canada, Saskatchewan; Human; Senescence; Ageing; Male; health; medication; Occupational exposure; Trauma; Occupational accident; Working time table; farm; aging; injury; Farmer; Elderly; Occupational medicine; Farming
• ISSN: 0271-3586; 1097-0274; 1097-0274
• DOI: 10.1002/ajim.20811

Background The average age of farmers in North America is increasing each year. Research has determined that age and health status are both related to increased risk of injury. The purpose of this research was to determine the association of health and medication factors with exposure to farm work in older male farmers. Methods As part of a cohort study to study determinants of injury on Saskatchewan farms, 5,502 farm people associated with 2,386 Saskatchewan farms were surveyed by mail questionnaire during the winter of 2007. The primary dependent variable was average hours per week of farm work. Independent variables included illnesses, age, and medication use. Results The mean number of hours worked per week by farmers aged 55 years and older was 48. There was a significant relationship between age and hours worked with each year of age accounting for about 0.85 hr less work per week. Medication use was related to a reduction in weekly work hours during the busy fall season but was not related to work exposure averaged over the whole year. In multivariable linear regression analysis, the main contributing variables to farm work exposure were: retired status (−), working off farm (−), and age (−). Conclusion The amount of hours older farmers work on the farm is considerable compared to any other occupational category. While there is a declining trend in the amount of work, a 75‐year‐old farmer still works, on average, about 34 hr per week. Some farmers do appear to self‐limit during busy times of the year if they are taking medication. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:706–715, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.