Neurological and mental health outcomes among conventional and organic farmers in Indiana, USA

Introduction. Every farming method, whether conventional or organic, has been associated with some sort of risky behaviors leading to health issues among farmers. Substantial evidence is not available in the literature to determine whether the magnitudes of health outcomes vary between conventional and organic farmers. The study investigated whether self-reported neurological and mental health symptoms differ between conventional and organic farmers living in Indiana, USA. Materials and method. A self-reported questionnaire survey collected information from 200 conventional and 157 organic farmers of Indiana on demographic characteristics, depression and neurological symptoms. Statistical analyses were conducted to observe the differences in self-reported symptoms by groups of farmers. Results. It was observed that the conventional farmers had significantly higher age-adjusted mean neurological symptom score (p<0.01) than the organic farmers. Regression models revealed positive and significant associations of conventional farming with total (beta = 1.34; p = 0.02), sensory (beta = 0.83; p = 0.001) and behavioural (beta = 0.09; p = 0.03) symptoms after accounting for age, income, education and years in farming. Positive but non-significant associations were also observed in conventional farmers with cognitive and motor symptoms, and with all subscales of depression symptoms in the adjusted models. Conclusion. The findings obtained suggest the importance of a larger study to further explain the difference in mental and neurological health effects in these two categories of farmers.