ORIGINAL PAPER
Occupational diseases among farmers in Poland
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Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine / Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera, Łódź, Poland (Department of Environmental Epidemiology / Zakład Epidemiologii Środowiskowej)
Corresponding author
Neonila Szeszenia-Dąbrowska
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, św. Teresy 8, 91-348 Łódź, Poland
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2016;67(2):163-71
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ABSTRACT
Background: The study’s objective is to present epidemiological situation concerning the incidence of occupational diseases among
farmers in Poland. Material and Methods: All 3438 cases of occupational diseases diagnosed among farmers and obligatorily reported
to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases (covering all the national territory and all the cases of occupational diseases
diagnosed in Poland after 1970) over the years 2000–2014 were subjected to analysis. Results: The annual incidence in the analyzed
period ranged 5–14 per 100 000 farmers. The analysis showed that about 90% of pathologies were induced by the biological agents.
Almost every third pathology due to biological agents had allergic origin. Infectious and parasitic diseases accounted for 62% of the
cases. Among them the diseases carried by ticks (93%) – borreliosis (85.8%) and tick-borne encephalitis (7.2%) were the most frequent
ones. The age of farmers, in the case of whom bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis were diagnosed, was significantly higher
than the age of remaining employees of the national economy, in which these occupational diseases were recognized. Conclusions: The study indicates the necessity to introduce periodic health examinations programs focusing on agricultural workers to monitor
health and well-being and improve working conditions and the working environment. Med Pr 2016;67(2):163–171