Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27285288›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2016

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Agricultural Health Study Spouses: Associations with Pesticides and Other Farm Exposures.

Christine G Parks, Jane A Hoppin, Anneclaire J De Roos, Karen H Costenbader, Michael C Alavanja, Dale P Sandler

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
10.3field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Herbicide-related health risks: key mechanisms and a guide to mitigation strategies.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Christine G ParksEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
Jane A Hoppin
Anneclaire J De Roos
Karen H Costenbader
Michael C Alavanja
Dale P Sandler
National Institutes of Health · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USDrexel University · USNorth Carolina State University · USUnited States Department of Health and Human Services · US

Funding

Health Effects Of Exposures In AgricultureZIAES049030 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI SANDLER, DALE P · 2009 to 2025
$11.2M
STUDIES OF OCCUPATIONAL CANCER--PESTICIDESZ01CP010119 · NCI · DIVISION OF CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GENETICS · PI ALAVANJA, MICHAEL · 1996 to 2008
$5.0M
HEALTH EFFECTS OF EXPOSURES IN AGRICULTUREZ01ES049030 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI SANDLER, DALE P · 1997 to 2008
$889k
Intramural NIH HHS Z01 CP010119Intramural NIH HHS Z01 ES049030
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFarming has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the role of pesticides is not known.

objectivesWe examined associations between RA and pesticides or other agricultural exposures among female spouses of licensed pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study.

methodsWomen were enrolled between 1993 and 1997 and followed through 2010. Cases (n = 275 total, 132 incident), confirmed by a physician or by self-reported use of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, were compared with noncases (n = 24,018). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using logistic regression models adjusted for age, state, and smoking pack-years.

resultsOverall, women with RA were somewhat more likely to have reported lifetime use of any specific pesticide versus no pesticides (OR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0, 1.6). Of the 15 pesticides examined, maneb/mancozeb (OR = 3.3; 95% CI: 1.5, 7.1) and glyphosate (OR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0, 2.1) were associated with incident RA compared with no pesticide use. An elevated, but non-statistically significant association with incident RA was seen for DDT (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 0.97, 3.6). Incident RA was also associated with the application of chemical fertilizers (OR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1, 2.7) and cleaning with solvents (OR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1, 2.4), but inversely associated with lifetime livestock exposure as a child and adult (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.97) compared with no livestock exposure.

conclusionsOur results suggest that specific agricultural pesticides, solvents, and chemical fertilizers may increase the risk of RA in women, while exposures involving animal contact may be protective. Citation: Parks CG, Hoppin JA, De Roos AJ, Costenbader KH, Alavanja MC, Sandler DP. 2016. Rheumatoid arthritis in Agricultural Health Study spouses: associations with pesticides and other farm exposures. Environ Health Perspect 124:1728-1734; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP129.

Indexed as

Environmental ExposureFarmersSpousesArthritis, RheumatoidCohort StudiesEnvironmental PollutantsFemaleFertilizersHumansPesticidesSolventsEnvironmental PollutantsFertilizersPesticidesSolvents

Identifiers

PMID27285288
PMCPMC5089872
OpenAlexW2411802092

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC0
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.