ArticleOccupational and environmental medicine2019
Farming tasks and the development of rheumatoid arthritis in the agricultural health study.
Article in Occupational and environmental medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exposure to Occupational Inhalants and the Risk of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Pooled it
- Association of distance to swine concentrated animal feeding operations with immune-mediated diseases: An exploratory gene-environment study.Environment international · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Comprehensive Review of Etiology, Pathophysiology, and Innovative Therapeutic Advancements.Current pharmaceutical design · 2026Review
- Application and demonstration of meso-activity exposure factors to advance estimates of incidental soil ingestion among agricultural workers.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- Occupational dust and chemical exposures and the development of autoimmune rheumatic diseases.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2025Review
- Occupational and Hobby Exposures Associated With Myositis Phenotypes in a National Myositis Patient Registry.Arthritis care & research · 2025Article
- Associations between pesticide use and rheumatoid arthritis among older farmers in the Agricultural Health Study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Air Pollution and Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk and Progression: Implications for the Mucosal Origins Hypothesis and Climate Change for RA Pathogenesis.Current rheumatology reports · 2024Review
- Contributions of Synthetic Chemicals to Autoimmune Disease Development and Occurrence.Current environmental health reports · 2024Review
- Occupational farm work activities influence workers' indoor home microbiome.Environmental research · 2024Article
- Prevention vs treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.Immunotherapy advances · 2023Review
- A qualitative characterization of meso-activity factors to estimate soil exposure for agricultural workers.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2023Article
- Inhalant and Additional Mucosal-Related Environmental Risks for Rheumatoid Arthritis.Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America · 2022Review
- Pesticide use and risk of systemic autoimmune diseases in the Agricultural Health Study.Environmental research · 2022Article
- The impact of a 6-week community-based physical activity and health education intervention-a pilot study among Irish farmers.Irish journal of medical science · 2022Article
- The burden of low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and gout and their respective attributable risk factors in Brazil: results of the GBD 2017 study.Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical · 2022Article
- Association of Agricultural, Occupational, and Military Inhalants With Autoantibodies and Disease Features in US Veterans With Rheumatoid Arthritis.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2021Article
- Environment and Lifestyle: Their Influence on the Risk of RA.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Inhalants other than personal cigarette smoking and risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis.Current opinion in rheumatology · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesFarming has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Some studies have evaluated the effects of pesticides, but other agricultural exposures may also affect immune response.
methodsWe investigated non-pesticide agricultural exposures in relation to RA in licensed pesticide applicators (n=27 175, mostly male farmers) and their spouses (n=22 231) in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) cohort (1993-1997) who completed at least one follow-up survey through 2015. Incident RA cases (n=229 applicators and 249 spouses) were identified based on self-report confirmed by use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or medical records. Hazard Ratios (HRs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for applicator status, state, smoking, education and specific pesticide use, allowing estimates to vary by median age when hazards assumptions were not met.
resultsOverall, RA was associated with regularly applying chemical fertilisers (HR=1.50; 95% CI 1.11 to 2.02), using non-gasoline solvents (HR=1.40; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.80), and painting (HR=1.26; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.59). In older applicators (>62 years), RA was associated with driving combines (HR=2.46; 95% CI 1.05 to 5.78) and milking cows (HR=2.56; 95% CI 1.01 to 6.53). In younger participants (≤62 years), RA was inversely associated with raising animals as well as crops (HR=0.68; 95% CI 0.51 to 0.89 vs crops only). Associations with specific crops varied by age: some (eg, hay) were inversely associated with RA in younger participants, while others (eg, alfalfa) were associated with RA in older participants.
conclusionThese findings suggest several agricultural tasks and exposures may contribute to development of RA.
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Registered trials
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.