Citation

Bårnes HU, Riise T. Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. 2006; 126(4): 432-434.

Vernacular Title

Lavt forbruk av medisiner blant bonder.

Affiliation

Seksjon for arbeidsmedisin, Institutt for samfunnsmedisinske fag, Universitetet i Bergen, Kalfarveien 31, 5018 Bergen.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Norske Laegeforening)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16477278

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Farmers have a higher prevalence of depression compared to workers with other occupations. We wanted to investigate whether this corresponds to a more frequent use of antidepressants among farmers and to investigate their use of medication in general. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study population consisted of 20 166 workers aged 40-47 years from the general population, including 398 farmers and 713 part-time farmers, from a population-based health study carried out in a Norwegian county. In addition to type of occupation and use of medical drugs, mental (HADS) and physical (SF-12) health, life-style factors, height, weight and blood pressure were measured. RESULTS: The farmers reported significantly lower use of antiperessants and also a significant lower use of medical drugs in general compared with other groups. Their physical health was significantly better compared with other occupational groups and they had a lower consumption of alcohol and tobacco. There were no marked differences in the blood pressure or body-mass index. CONCLUSION: The lower use of drugs could reflect better health, it could be related to a culturally-related reluctance to the use of drugs, or it could indicate that farmers in some instances are not receiving proper medical care.

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