Citation

Ghafari M, Cheraghi Z, Doosti-Irani A. Epidemiol. Health 2017; 39: e2017027.

Affiliation

Department of epidemiology, School of public health, Hamadan University of medical sciences, Hamadan, Iran.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Korean Society of Epidemiology)

DOI

10.4178/epih.e2017027

PMID

28728349

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Farming is one of the most important components of most economies. There is not a comprehensive picture of the health status and work-related hazards among Iranian farmers. We aimed to determine the gaps in the current knowledge regarding the occupational health of Iranian farmworkers.

METHODS: Electronic databases including Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, as well as national databases including the Scientific Information Database, MagIran, and Barakat Knowledge System, were searched for articles published until March 2017. All epidemiological studies regarding the occupational health of farmworkers were reviewed regardless of their design, language, time of publication, and location.

RESULTS: Out of the 86 retrieved articles, 39 studies were ultimately analyzed. Most studies were conducted in Fars, Kerman, and Mazandaran Provinces. According to the results of this review, chemical, physical, and biological hazards, along with work-related injuries, might be the main factors threatening the health of farmworkers. Unsafe use of pesticides was related to male infertility, eye and digestive complications, pesticide poisoning, pesticide absorption, hematological changes, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

CONCLUSION: Chemical hazards (e.g. unsafe use of pesticides), physical hazards, injuries, and biological hazards (e.g. work-related infectious diseases) threaten the health of Iranian farmworkers. Moreover, farmworkers lack adequate knowledge about the occupational hazards and risk factors.

Language: en

Keywords

Iran; farmworkers; occupational health; risk factors