Farmers Syndrome and Their Related Factors of Rural Residents in Chungnam Province

충남 일부 농촌지역 주민들의 농부증에 관한 조사

To investigate the actual states of farmers syndrome and their related factors, the author surveyed a total of 534 rural residents, resided in Puyeo kun, Chungnam Province, during August 1996. The data were collected from members of an association and their families of agricultural co-operatives, and analysed. Following are the results summarized therefrom; 1. The prevalence rate of farmers syndrome as a whole was 36.7%, but that of female was higher as 45.0% than male as 27.4%. 2. The prevalence rates of farmers syndrome were higher in the group of higher age, shorter education years, longer farming careers, and longer daily farming hours. 3. The prevalence rates of farmers syndrome did not show statistically significantly different among groups of farming categories such as specialize in farming, such as side line, and not farming. 4. Sex, age, and daily farming hours were proved to be a related factors of farmers syndrome by logistic regression analysis. Odds ratio of female group was 2.06 compared with male group, above 70 years age group was 6.24 compared with below 40 years age group, and group of farming more than 8 hours a day was 2.55 compared with not farming group. 5. The mean scores of self-estimated health states of the group with farmers syndrome was lower than those with negative or suspicious farmers syndrome, but the mean scores of psychological symptoms, other than symptoms of farmers syndrome was statistically significantly higher in farmers syndrome group. Consequently, farmers syndrome seems to be not disease entity but symptom complex which is highly related with age and sex. For that reason, there is a need of study on the differentiate the farmers syndrome and chronic musculoskeletal diseases in the aged.