Depression and Pesticide Exposures among Private Pesticide Applicators Enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study

2008

Depression and Pesticide Exposure in Farmers

Sample size: 17585 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Cheryl L. Beseler, Lorann Stallones, Jane A. Hoppin, Michael C.R. Alavanja, Aaron Blair, Thomas Keefe, Freya Kamel

Primary Institution: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Is there a relationship between diagnosed depression and pesticide exposure among private pesticide applicators?

Both acute high-intensity and cumulative pesticide exposure may contribute to depression in pesticide applicators.

3.0% of the study population reported a physician-diagnosed depression.
Those with a history of pesticide poisoning had significantly higher odds of depression.
High cumulative pesticide exposure was significantly associated with diagnosed depression.

Farmers who use pesticides might feel sad or depressed more often, especially if they've had a bad experience with pesticides.

Logistic regression analyses were performed relating pesticide exposure to depression using data from private pesticide applicators.

Potential bias due to self-reporting and the exclusion of certain demographics.

The study relied on self-reported data for both depression and pesticide exposure, which may lead to misclassification.

Participants were primarily male private pesticide applicators from Iowa and North Carolina.

p<0.0001

95% CI, 1.74–3.79

p<0.05

Access the complete publication on the publisher's website