Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter, Lazenby House, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, England, EX4 4PJ.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Jul 20;22(1):1395. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13790-w.
Mental and physical health problems among the farming community are well documented but there is limited evidence regarding the overall health status of this population. This paper offers a unique insight into this issue through presenting the findings from a survey instrument, the EQ-5D-3L, which provides a standardised measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL).
We conducted the largest ever survey (n = 15,296) of people living and working in agriculture in England and Wales to gather baseline data on health and wellbeing within this community. The survey included an assessment of HRQOL through the use of the EQ-5D-3L self-report questionnaire. A variety of statistical approaches were used to test for significant associations between HRQOL and sub-group characteristics, including the Chi-square test for independence, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney U-test. Binary logistic regression models were also created to assess the influence of a set of respondent characteristics on the likelihood of respondents reporting health problems in the EQ-5D-3L.
24% of respondents reported problems with mobility; 4% reported problems with self-care; 21% reported problems with performing their usual activities; 52% reported problems with pain/discomfort; and 31% reported problems with anxiety/depression. The mean EQ-5D index value was 0.811 (median (Md) 0.796, interquartile range (IQR) 0.275). The mean self-rated health score (EQ-VAS) was 77.6 (SD 16.1) (Md 80.0, IQR 20). In general, holding other respondent characteristics equal, women reported fewer problems with mobility, self-care, performing usual activities and pain/discomfort than men, but more problems with anxiety/depression. HRQOL in the working-aged appears to be poorer among the survey population than the wider UK population.
Results reveal concerning levels of physical and mental health problems, especially pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, which appear to be more prevalent within our sample than within the wider UK population. There were important gender and age-related differences in both mental and physical health. Combatting these problems through targeted support is essential for the wellbeing of the farming community and the future sustainability of UK food production.
农业社区的身心健康问题已有大量记录，但关于该人群整体健康状况的证据有限。本文通过呈现 EQ-5D-3L 调查工具的调查结果，提供了一个独特的视角来探讨这个问题，该工具提供了健康相关生活质量 (HRQOL) 的标准化衡量标准。
我们对英格兰和威尔士生活和工作在农业领域的人群进行了迄今为止规模最大的调查（n=15296），以收集该社区健康和福利的基线数据。该调查通过使用 EQ-5D-3L 自我报告问卷评估 HRQOL。使用了各种统计方法来测试 HRQOL 与亚组特征之间的显著关联，包括卡方检验独立性、克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验和曼-惠特尼 U 检验。还创建了二元逻辑回归模型，以评估一组受访者特征对受访者在 EQ-5D-3L 中报告健康问题可能性的影响。
24%的受访者报告在移动方面存在问题；4%的受访者报告在自我护理方面存在问题；21%的受访者报告在进行日常活动方面存在问题；52%的受访者报告在疼痛/不适方面存在问题；31%的受访者报告在焦虑/抑郁方面存在问题。EQ-5D 指数平均值为 0.811（中位数（Md）为 0.796，四分位距（IQR）为 0.275）。自我报告健康评分（EQ-VAS）的平均值为 77.6（SD 16.1）（Md 为 80.0，IQR 为 20）。一般来说，在其他受访者特征保持不变的情况下，女性在移动、自我护理、进行日常活动和疼痛/不适方面报告的问题少于男性，但在焦虑/抑郁方面报告的问题更多。与更广泛的英国人口相比，调查人群的工作年龄人群的 HRQOL 似乎更差。
结果揭示了令人担忧的身心健康问题水平，尤其是疼痛/不适和焦虑/抑郁，在我们的样本中比更广泛的英国人口中更为普遍。在心理健康和身体健康方面存在重要的性别和年龄差异。通过有针对性的支持来解决这些问题，对于农业社区的福祉和英国食品生产的未来可持续性至关重要。
