Farmer Health Study

The University of California, Davis Farmer Health Study is an ongoing investigation of the environmental exposures and health impacts of farming as experienced in California. It began with a survey in 1993 of nearly 2,000 farmers and the concluding survey was conducted in 2004 when nearly 900 of the original farmers were contacted. The aim of the study is to identify the prevalence and risk factors for acute and chronic disease in this population which is representative of farmers in California. Ultimately the information will be used to try and find ways of preventing or lessening the impact of disease.

The first main cohort follow-up survey was conducted in 1998 with all the farmers from the original study who could be contacted (67%). This allowed investigators to make comparisons between changes in health and farming practices that occurred with time.

A third survey, completed in 2004, consisted of all remaining farmers, who could be contacted (45%). Since many chronic illnesses take years to develop, following farmers over eleven years will allow investigators to draw associations between chronic illnesses and farming practices. We did not exclude farmers who had retired from the study, as leaving farming may have been connected to illness, which in turn may have been connected to this occupation.

Currently the investigators of the Farmer Health Study are in the process of documenting the findings from the study. Please see Results and Publications pages.

We wish to send a very grateful thank you to all of the farmers for the time and effort they have donated to the study. Their contributions have helped us understand how to improve the health of the farmers of California. If you were a farmer who participated in the 2004 study and did not receive a newsletter in 2006, please contact the study director, Diane Mitchell, at the toll free number: 1-800-667-9531 or by email:dcmtichell@ucdavis.edu .

Also, please contact Diane Mitchell if you have any questions regarding the study or would like to receive more information regarding the study.

Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety
Department of Public Health Sciences
School of Medicine & UC Davis Health System
University of California, Davis

This page was updated 14 February 2006, 11:39 AM.

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