Cardiovascular disease risk factors among Latino migrant and seasonal farmworkers

Abstract

Migrant and seasonal (MS) farmworkers are an important component of the US economy. Their unique occupational health concerns have garnered research, but chronic disease research in this population is lacking. It is unclear whether health differences exist between migrant (those who migrate to and travel a distance from the home environment and thus live in temporary housing for the purpose of employment) and seasonal workers (those who work in the agricultural industry on a seasonal basis, whose long-term home environments are often near work locations and thus may be considered more "settled"), since most research presents MS farmworkers as a homogenous group. This study explored potential differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors, (i.e., diabetes, current smoking, obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia) by sex and MS status among a sample of 282 English- and Spanish- speaking Latino MS farmworkers in the Midwest using cross-sectional survey and clinical laboratory data. Results showed that in multivariate logistic regression analyses, migrant workers (odds ratio [OR] = 2.15) had a higher likelihood of being obese compared with seasonal workers (P < .05). MS farmworkers did not differ in likelihood of smoking, diabetes, hypertension, or hypercholesterolemia. In adjusted analyses, females were more likely to be obese (OR = 3.29) and have diabetes (OR = 4.74) compared with males (P < .05); and males were more likely to be current smokers (OR = 7.50) as compared with females (P < .05). This study provides insight into chronic health concerns among this predominantly Latino farmworker population and suggests that future prevention and intervention research may need to focus on sex differences rather than MS farmworker status.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease risk factors; chronic disease; migrant farmworkers; seasonal farmworkers.