Associations between pesticide use and rheumatoid arthritis among older farmers in the Agricultural Health Study.

ABSTRACT: Pesticides and farming have been associated with increased rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk, but the role of specific pesticides remains unknown. We examined RA risk among licensed pesticide applicators (97% white male farmers), from North Carolina and Iowa, in the Agricultural Health Study, in relation to lifetime use of 45 pesticides reported at enrollment (1993-1997, updated 1999-2003). In 22,642 applicators ages ≥ 67 years with ≥ 24 months Fee for Service Medicare data (1999-2016), we identified 161 (0.7%) incident cases with ≥ 2 RA claims (including ≥ 1 by a rheumatologist), ≥ 30 days apart, after ≥ 12 months without RA claims. Relative risks (RR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated using log-binomial models adjusted for age, state, education, smoking, and correlated pesti

SUBMITTER: Parks CG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11611918 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature