The association between drought conditions and occupational psychosocial stress among Midwestern U.S. farmers: an occupational cohort study
Year: 2021
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIM: Drought represents a globally relevant natural disaster linked to adverse health. Evidence has shown agricultural communities to be particularly susceptible to drought conditions, but there is a limited understanding of how drought may impact occupational psychosocial stress in farmers. METHODS: We used repeated measures data collected in the Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Agricultural Workers Cohort study, including 498 Midwestern U.S. farmers surveyed with a Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) at six-month intervals in 312 counties (2012-2015). A longitudinal mixed effects model was used to estimate the change in job strain ratio, a metric of occupational psychosocial stress, during drought conditions measured with a 12-month standardized precipitation index. We further evaluated associations between drought and psychological job demand and job decision latitude, the job strain components, and applied a stratified analysis to evaluate differences by participant sex, age, and geography. RESULTS:During the growing season, the job strain ratio increased by 0.031 (95% CI: 0.012, 0.05) during drought conditions, an amount equivalent to a one-half standard deviation change, compared to non-drought conditions. The association between drought and the job strain ratio was driven mostly by increases in the psychological job demand (2.09; 95% CI: 0.94, 3.24). No risk differences were observed by sex, age group, or geographic region. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest a previously unidentified association between drought and increased occupational psychosocial stress among farmers. With North American climate anticipated to become hotter and drier, these findings could provide important health effects data for federal drought early warning systems and mitigation plans. KEYWORDS: natural disasters, mental health outcomes, occupational epidemiology, climate
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Language: English
Topic: Agriculture and Farm Safety
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3195860620