Proportionate mortality among US migrant and seasonal farmworkers in twenty-four states

Background US migrant and seasonal farmworkers may be exposed to potentiall y carcinogenic pesticides and other agents. Little epidemiologic research h as been conducted on this population. Methods We examined the proportionate mortality of 26,148 subjects (14,631 white men (WM),7,299 nonwhite men (NM), 1,081 white women (WW), and 3,137 n onwhite women (NW)) who were identified as farmworkers on death certificate s from 24 US states during 1984-1993. Results Farmworkers had significantly elevated proportionate mortality from injuries, tuberculosis, mental disorders, cerebrovascular disease, respira tory diseases, ulcers, hypertension (NW), and cirrhosis (NW). There was sig nificantly reduced mortality, from infectious diseases (other than tubercul osis), endocrine disorders, nervous system diseases, pneumoconioses, arteri osclerotic heart disease (WM), and all cancers combined. Proportionate canc er mortality analyses found excess cancers of the buccal cavity, larynx, es ophagus, stomach, skin (NW), and cen,ix, and deficits for cancers of the co lon, breast, kidney, pancreas (NW), and lymphohematopoietic system. Conclusions The excess deaths from injuries, respiratory disease, and stoma ch cancer, and the deficits of colon cancer and arteriosclerotic heart dise ase among farmworkers, are consistent with typical mortality patterns previ ously observed among farm owner/ operators. The excess buccal, laryngeal, e sophageal, and cervical cancers, and the deficits of breast cancer and lymp hohematopoietic cancers have not generally been observed in studies of farm owner/operators. Am. J. Ind. Med. 40:604-611, 2001. Published 2001 Wiley-L iss, Inc.(dagger)