This document discusses farmers' health statistics and prevention in Ireland. It finds that farmers have significantly higher mortality rates than other occupations, especially for heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disease. Farmers also have high rates of health risk factors like overweight/obesity and back pain. Prevention efforts should focus on lifestyle changes, occupational health and safety, and increasing access to health resources and support for farmers.

1. Prepared for the IFA 01/11/2022
Farmers’
Health and
prevention
Diana van Doorn
National Centre for Men’s Health
South East Technological University
diana.vandoorn@setu.ie
Prepared for the IFA 01/11/2022
Photo: IFA

2. What is health?
"a state of complete
physical, mental and
social well-being
and
not merely the absence of
disease and infirmity".
World Health Organization 1948

3. What is health?

4. What is health?
Determinants of Health (Dahlgren and Whitehead, 1991)
HEALTH INEQUALITIES

5. Farmers health statistics - mortality
2000-2006:
• 7x † Heart / vascular diseases; 5x † any cause of death; 3x † Cancer
compared to salaried employees (Smyth et al., 2013)
2000-2012:
• Any cause of death: F 2x† and AW 3x† compared to
employers/managers;
• Heart disease: F 2.3x†, AW 2.4x† compared to employers/managers;
• Cancers: AW (+ ‘non-manual’, ‘skilled manual’) 2.5x†, F 2.0x† compared
to employers/managers
• Respiratory disease: AW 3x respiratory disease compared to
employers/managers (Duffy et al., 2022 )

6. Farmers health statistics - morbidity
 Heart disease - 74% 4 or more risk factors (van Doorn et al., 2017; van
Doorn et al., 2020);
 Overweight/obesity - 86% (van Doorn et al., 2017; Cushen et al., 2016;
(van Doorn et al., 2020);
 (Lower) back pain - 56%(Osborne et al., 2010);
 Respiratory diseases - 60% (Cushen et al., 2016);
 Self-reported osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis – 3x (van Doorn
et al., 2018);
 Skin cancer – 4x (Irish Cancer society; 2017);
 Work-related stress (van Doorn et al., 2020; Brennan et al., 2022);
 Mental health and psychiatric hospital admission (Morrisey et al.,
2009).
 Hearing loss; skin problems, infections and zoonosis.

7. Farmers health statistics - fatalities
Source: HSA, 2021
2011-2020 208 fatalities

8. Health and safety

9. Factors
underpinning
farmers’ health
inequalities
• Education
• Income
• Older
• Working conditions
• Rural living conditions
• Gender

10. Impact of ill-
health on
farmers
Major’ disability to farm operator led to a 31.5%
reduction in income (Whelan et al., 2009)

11. Prevention
Photo Agriland

12. Take a look at your
lifestyle

13. Occupational health
prevention

14. Health prevention
Steps for change

15. Health prevention – changing behaviours

16. Health support for farmers

17. Farmers health resources Health and safety
www.irishheart.ie
www.cancer.ie
www.HSE.ie
www.HSA.ie
www.Teagasc.ie
www.ifa.ie
www.farmerhealth.org.au
Mental health
www.samaritans.org
www.pieta.ie
www.mentalhealthireland.ie

18. REFERENCES
Smyth, B., Evans, D., S., Kelly, A., Cullen, L. and O’Donavan D. (2013). The farming population in Ireland: mortality trends during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years. The
European Journal of Public Health 1-6.
Duffy, K., Connolly, S., Nolan, A. and Maitre, B. (2022). Unequal chances? Inequalities in mortality in Ireland. Dublin: Economic and Social Research Institute,
Available: https://publichealth.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Unequal-Chances.pdf [Accessed 09/30/2022].
van Doorn, D., Richardson, N. and Osborne, A. (2017). 'Farmers Have Hearts: the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease among a sub-group of
Irish livestock farmers'. Journal of agromedicine, 22(3), 264-274.
van Doorn, D., Richardson, N., Meredith, D., McNamara, J., Osborne, A. and Blake, C. (2020). Farmers Have Hearts Cardiovascular Health Programme. Detailed
Baseline Report. Carlow: Teagasc, National Centre for Men's Health at IT Carlow, Available:
https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2020/farmers-have-hearts-cardiovascular-health-programme.php
Cushen, B., Sulaiman, I., Donoghue, N., Langan, D., Cahill, T., Dhonncha, E.N., Healy, O., Keegan, F., Browne, M. and O'Regan, A., 2016. High prevalence of
obstructive lung disease in non-smoking farmers: The Irish farmers lung health study. Respiratory medicine, 115, pp.13-19.
Osborne, A., Blake, C., Fullen, B. M., Meredith, D., Phelan, J., McNamara, J. and Cunningham, C. (2010). Musculoskeletal disorders among Irish farmers.
Occupational Medicine Dec; 60(8):598-603.
Brennan, M., Hennessy, T., Meredith, D. and Dillon, E. (2022). 'Weather, Workload and Money: Determining and Evaluating Sources of Stress for Farmers in
Ireland'. Journal of agromedicine, 27(2), 132-142.
Morrissey, K., Daly, A., Clarke, G., Ballas, D. and O’Donoghue, C. (2009). An Examination of Psychiatric Inpatient Admissions in Rural Ireland. Rural
Economic Research Centre, Teagasc. Working Paper Series Working Paper 09-WP-RE-10.
van Doorn, D., Richardson, N., Storey, A., Osborne, A., Cunningham, C., Blake, C. and McNamara J. (2018). Farming characteristics and self-reported health
outcomes of Irish farmers, Occupational Medicine, Volume 68, Issue 3, 17, Pages 199–202,
Health and Safety Authority. (2021). A Review of Work-Related Fatalities in Agriculture in Ireland 2011-2020. Dublin, Available:
https://www.hsa.ie/eng/publications_and_forms/publications/agriculture_and_forestry/a_review_of_work-
related_fatalities_in_agriculture_in_ireland_2011-2020.pdf. [Accessed 25/09/2022].
Whelan, S., Ruane, D.J., McNamara, J., Kinsella, A. and McNamara, A. (2009). 'Disability on Irish Farms—A Real Concern'. Journal of Agromedicine, 14(2),
157163.