Cardiovascular Disease, Digestive Diseases, Traffic Accidents, and Suicides. Leading Causes of Death Responsible for Excess Mortality in Farmers in Spain

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare mortality from the leading causes of death in farmers and in all other workers. Methods: Mortality by cause of death was calculated from a longitudinal study in which 9.5 million men were followed up for 10 years. We estimated the contribution of the causes of death to the difference in all-cause mortality. Results: Most of the excess in all-cause mortality in farmers was due to cardiovascular diseases, digestive diseases, and external causes, which contributed 22.3%, 17.2%, and 53.3% to the difference in all-cause mortality, respectively. Traffic accidents and suicide were the main contributors to the excess mortality from external causes. Conclusion: Farmers are a vulnerable group in terms of health, thus there is a need to identify the factors that influence excess mortality from cardiovascular diseases, digestive diseases, traffic accidents, and suicide.