TABLE 2.
Prevalence of Asthma Attacks and Proportion of Current Asthma That Is Farm Work Related Among Primary Farm Operators With Current Asthma
| Characteristic | Asthma attack prevalence | Proportion of current asthma that is farm work related | Current asthma that is farm work related versus asthma that is non-farm related | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| %a | (95% CI) | %a | (95% CI) | PORb (95% CI) | P | |
| Total | 51.0 | (45.3–56.7) | 15.4 | (11.5–19.2) | — | |
| Age group (years) | ||||||
| 16–39 | 47.9 | (23.1–72.7) | 16.8 | (2.5–31.1) | 1.00 (Ref) | |
| 40–64 | 55.1 | (47.5–62.8) | 17.1 | (11.7–22.5) | 0.97 (0.31–3.07) | 1.00 |
| 65–99 | 44.9 | (36.1–53.6) | 12.4 | (6.7–18.2) | 0.67 (0.19–2.42) | .55 |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 51.1 | (44.7–57.5) | 16.9 | (12.3–21.6) | 1.55 (0.68–3.56) | .30 |
| Female | 50.7 | (38.4–63.0) | 10.4 | (4.3–16.4) | 1.00 (Ref) | |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Married or living with a partner | 51.3 | (45.0–57.5) | 16.3 | (11.9–20.7) | —b | |
| Widowed, divorced, separated | 50.5 | (35.2–65.9) | 11.4 | (2.1–20.7)c | — | |
| Single, never married | 48.3 | (22.6–74.0) | —d | — | ||
| Smoking status | ||||||
| Current smoker | 41.3 | (22.0–60.7) | 2.9 | (0.0–5.8)c,e | —b | |
| Former smoker | 54.5 | (44.9–64.2) | 9.5 | (4.5–14.5) | — | |
| Nonsmoker | 50.8 | (43.5–58.2) | 21.1 | (15.2–27.1) | — | |
| Second job | ||||||
| Yes | 54.4 | (45.9–62.9) | 17.3 | (10.9–23.6) | 1.00 (Ref) | |
| No | 48.1 | (40.6–55.5) | 13.7 | (9.1–18.4) | 0.73 (0.34–1.58) | .43 |
| Regionf | ||||||
| North | 56.5 | (46.2–66.8) | 26.2 | (18.2–34.2) | 1.00 (Ref) | |
| Midwest | 53.0 | (43.8–62.3) | 15.7 | (8.6–22.7) | 0.32 (0.15–0.72) | .01 |
| South | 47.3 | (37.2–57.5) | 13.4 | (6.4–20.3) | 0.46 (0.22–0.95) | .04 |
| West | 49.6 | (41.8–57.5) | 15.2 | (9.8–20.6) | 0.41 (0.21–0.80) | .01 |
| Farm acreage | ||||||
| <101 | 53.9 | (46.4–61.5) | 11.3 | (6.8–15.9)g | 0.21 (0.06–0.72) | .01 |
| 101–999 | 46.1 | (37.5–54.8) | 19.5 | (12.3–26.6) | 0.40 (0.15–1.08) | .07 |
| ≥1,000 | 40.6 | (24.1–57.0) | 41.1 | (24.1–58.0) | 1.00 (Ref) | |
| Farm value of sales | ||||||
| <$10,000 | 54.9 | (46.1–63.7) | 12.7 | (6.9–18.4)h | 0.60 (0.20–1.81) | .36 |
| $10,000–$99,999 | 46.5 | (39.3–53.6) | 12.0 | (7.5–16.4) | 0.44 (0.21–0.90) | .03 |
| ≥ $100,000 | 44.4 | (33.9–55.0) | 32.5 | (22.5–42.6) | 1.00 (Ref) | |
| Farm typei | ||||||
| Livestock | 52.0 | (44.2–59.7) | 15.2 | (9.7–20.7) | 1.00 (Ref) | |
| Crop | 49.9 | (41.6–58.1) | 15.5 | (10.2–20.9) | 0.94 (0.52–1.68) | .82 |
Note. 95% CI = 95% confidence interval; Ref = reference group.
Weighted to the national population of primary farm operators using the survey sample weights for each participant.
Prevalence odds ratio. In the model, the outcome variable was current asthma that may be farm work related, and the predictor variables were age, sex, second job, census region, farm acreage, value of sales, and farm type. Marital status and smoking status were not included in the logistic regression model because the numbers of operators with farm work–related asthma in these two groups were not reliable.
Estimated proportion may be unreliable because the relative standard error for the estimated number of operators with farm work–related asthma is 30%–50%.
Estimate suppressed because the relative standard error for the estimated number of operators with farm work–related asthma >50%.
Former versus never smokers, P = .007; current versus former/never smokers not assesses because the estimated proportion may be unreliable.
North: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; South: Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Farms with <101 acres versus farms with ≥1,000 acres, P < .0001; farms with 101–999 acres versus farms with ≥1,000 acres, P = .01.
Farms with ≥$100,000 value of sales versus farms with <$10,000 value of sales, P < .001; farms with ≥$100,000 value of sales versus farms with $10,000–$99,999 value of sales, P < .001.
Livestock farm includes swine, dairy, beef cattle, sheep/goats, equine, poultry, aquaculture, other animal; crop farm includes grains, tobacco, cotton, vegetables, fruits/nuts, nursery/greenhouse, cut Christmas trees, other crops/hay.