Thomas D R, Salmon R L, Kench S M, Meadows D, Coleman T J, Morgan-Capner P, Morgan K L
Public Health Laboratory Service, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Welsh Unit, Cardiff.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 1994 Apr;48(2):151-5. doi: 10.1136/jech.48.2.151.
To recruit a representative sample of farmworkers, accurately quantify the range and extent of their animal exposures, and measure the associated risks of illness.
Inception cohort.
The study was undertaken among farmworkers living in five local authority areas in the catchment of Hereford and Preston Public Health Laboratories, England.
A quota sample of 404 people on 255 agricultural holdings took part. The holdings were selected at random from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food register. Altogether 58% of eligible subjects approached agreed to participate.
The sample had the same sex distribution as the 1991 census for those giving their occupation as agriculture. The mean age was significantly (p < 0.01) higher (44.6 years v 42.2 years) than that of those giving their occupation as agriculture, forestry or fishing in the census, although the modal range (45-59 years) was the same. At enrollment interviews, subjects individually reported contact with up to nine animal species (mode 4) out of 26 reported in all. Based on the numbers contacted and the frequency and intimacy of contact, scores on a ranked ordinal scale from 0-5 were constructed for each species and frequencies for each score were plotted. Subjects also reported past operations and serious illness. A history of pneumonia was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with a pigeon loft on the farm (relative risk (RR) 7.3) and attending farrowing pigs (RR 6.6), and one of leptospirosis with a rat problem on the farm (RR 28.1). Cattle contact was associated with a significantly lower likelihood (protective) of glandular fever (RR 0.19) and rheumatic or scarlet fever (RR 0.12). These effects were significantly related to rankings of the extent of exposure.
It is possible to recruit a representative sample of farmworkers and measure their animal exposures in great detail. Among these exposures, associations with plausible risk factors for pneumonia and leptospirosis and apparently protective factors for glandular fever, scarlet fever, and rheumatic fever have been demonstrated, which further show a relationship between the extent of exposure and response. These findings can be tested further by examining the relationship of exposures to serological evidence of illness or by further prospective follow up of this and similarly well characterised cohorts, or both.
招募具有代表性的农场工人样本，准确量化他们与动物接触的范围和程度，并衡量相关的患病风险。
起始队列研究。
研究在英格兰赫里福德和普雷斯顿公共卫生实验室辖区内五个地方当局区域居住的农场工人中进行。
来自255个农业经营场所的404人组成的配额样本参与了研究。这些经营场所是从农业、渔业和食品部的登记册中随机选取的。总共58%的符合条件的受试者同意参与。
该样本的性别分布与1991年人口普查中职业为农业的人群相同。平均年龄显著高于（p<0.01）人口普查中职业为农业、林业或渔业的人群（44.6岁对42.2岁），尽管众数范围（45 - 59岁）相同。在入组访谈中，受试者个人报告与总共26种动物中的多达9种有接触（众数为4种）。根据接触的动物数量以及接触的频率和密切程度，为每种动物构建了一个从0到5的排序等级量表分数，并绘制了每个分数的频率图。受试者还报告了过去的手术和严重疾病史。肺炎病史与农场有鸽舍（相对风险（RR）7.3）以及照料产仔母猪（RR 6.6）显著相关（p<0.05），钩端螺旋体病史与农场有鼠患（RR 28.1）显著相关。接触牛与患腺热（RR 0.19）和风湿热或猩红热（RR 0.12）的可能性显著降低（有保护作用）相关。这些影响与接触程度的排名显著相关。
有可能招募到具有代表性的农场工人样本，并非常详细地测量他们与动物的接触情况。在这些接触中，已证明与肺炎和钩端螺旋体病的合理风险因素以及腺热、猩红热和风湿热的明显保护因素有关，这进一步表明接触程度与反应之间的关系。这些发现可以通过检查接触与疾病血清学证据之间的关系，或者通过对该队列以及类似特征良好的队列进行进一步的前瞻性随访，或者两者兼而有之，来进一步验证。
