Risk of Death Among Employees in Agriculture and Agriculture-Related Industries in Georgia

Background: Farming has an enormous impact on the economy of Georgia, with as many as one in six Georgians working in agriculture. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the risk of death of white and black farmers to non-farmers in Georgia. Methods: Mortality data stratified by age and aggregated by race were retrieved from the Georgia Office of Vital Statistics for the years 1985-1994. The classification system used to code occupation on the death certificate was W473-489, which includes farmers and most all other agricultural occupations. For each cause of death, the Breslow-Day Test was used to determine homogeneity of risk across all age strata (a=0.05). A common odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for all homogenous causes of death using the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Results: Among white farmers, the risk of death was significantly high for tuberculosis [OR=1.64 (1.01, 2.65)], fires [OR=1.60 (1.15, 2.22)], and accidental drowning [OR=1.52 (1.01, 2.28)]. The leading causes of death among black farmers were accidental drowning [OR=1.53 (1.03, 2.26)], cerebrovascular disease [OR=1.27 (1.18, 1.38)], and ischemic heart disease [OR=1.21 (1.14, 1.29)]. Causes of death reported to be significantly low were also investigated. Conclusions: The findings of this study are varied, but trends related to risk of death appear to be similar to observed national trends