Karakterisering av bønders luftveishelse med bakgrunn i Helseundersøkelsen i Nord-Trøndelag

Abstract

It has for long been an established view that farmers face an increased risk of airway symptoms. However, a recent Icelandic study showed no difference between farmers and controls. From two subsequent studies of the entire population in a Norwegian county (HUNT 1 and 2) we compared the farming population with the general working population with respect to the occurrence of airway symptoms. Both crude and adjusted results showed no differences between the groups in the cross-sectional materials from HUNT 1 and 2, respectively. In a longitudinal approach, the only symptom that showed a slight, but statistically significant increased incidence was reported episodes with wheeze or heavy breath during the last year, where the odds ratio between farmers and controls, adjusted for age, gender, and smoking habits, was 1.13 (95% CI 1.04-1.24). We concluded that the difference between farmers and the general working population were marginal with respect to the occurrence of airway symptoms.