Osteoarthritis of the hip: an occupational disease in farmers

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that farmers are at high risk of hip osteoarthritis and to investigate possible causes for such a hazard.

Design: Cross sectional survey.

Setting: Five rural general practices.

Subjects: 167 male farmers aged 60-76 and 83 controls from mainly sedentary jobs. All those without previous hip replacement underwent radiography of the hip.

Main outcome measures: Hip replacement for osteoarthritis or radiological evidence of hip osteoarthritis.

Results: Prevalence of hip osteoarthritis was higher in farmers than controls and especially in those who had farmed for over 10 years (odds ratio 9.3, 95% confidence interval 1.9 to 44.5). The excess could not be attributed to any one type of farming, and heavy lifting seems the likely explanation.

Conclusions: Manual handling in agriculture should be limited where possible. Consideration should be given to making hip osteoarthritis a prescribed industrial disease in farmers. There may be wider implications for the prevention of hip osteoarthritis in the general population.