MEDICATIONS AS RISK-FACTORS FOR FARM INJURY

A case-control study was used to determine whether cases of farm injur y were more likely than controls to have been regularly exposed to cer tain types of medication including those that cause side effects which may predispose to injury. Persons reporting an injury (n=176) were id entified in a population-based mail survey of people on 1364 Ontario f arms, and compared to people without injuries using a 4:1 control: cas e ratio. Bivariate, stratified, and multivariable analyses were used t o quantify the strength of associations between exposures to certain m edications and the occurrence of farm injury. Those who regularly used certain types of medication were separated into two groups: people wh o used the medications in isolation, and those who used the medication s in combination with other medications. Response to the survey was 77 .3% among cases and 82.6% among controls. Strong and statistically sig nificant increases in risk for injury were observed in association wit h the regular use of stomach remedies or laxatives by males (OR 2.8; 9 5% CI: 1.0,7.7), and regular use of heart or circulatory medications b y men over the age of 45 (OR 4.2; 95% CI: 1.2,14.7). The identified as sociations remained after adjustment for age, co-morbidity, tillable f arm acreage, education, income, alcohol consumption and tobacco use. S everal possible explanations for the occurrence of the identified asso ciations, other than the etiological hypothesis originally advanced, a re discussed. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.