Characteristics of incident RA cases and non-cases in licensed private pesticide applicators and spouses, Agricultural Health Study
| At enrolment | Non-cases n=48 928 | Incident RA n=478 | OR (95% CI)* |
| N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Age (years) | |||
| <40 | 14 995 (31) | 93 (19) | Reference |
| 40–49 | 14 721 (30) | 144 (30) | 1.58 (1.21 to 2.05) |
| 50–59 | 11 495 (22) | 156 (33) | 2.19 (1.69 to 2.83) |
| 60+ | 7717 (16) | 85 (18) | 1.78 (1.32 to 2.39) |
| Participant type | |||
| Applicator | 26 946 (55) | 229 (48) | Reference |
| Spouse | 21 982 (45) | 249 (52) | 1.34 (1.12 to 1.61) |
| Sex† | |||
| Male | 26 246 (54) | 220 (46) | Reference |
| Female | 22 682 (46) | 258 (54) | 1.37 (1.14 to 1.64) |
| State | |||
| Iowa | 33 782 (69) | 273 (57) | Reference |
| North Carolina | 15 146 (31) | 205 (43) | 1.58 (1.32 to 1.90) |
| Race/Ethnicity | |||
| White | 47 691 (98) | 461 (96) | Reference |
| Other | 1195 (2) | 17 (4) | 1.41 (0.86 to 2.29) |
| Education | |||
| ≤High school | 24 095 (49) | 267 (56) | Reference |
| >High school | 24 833 (51) | 211 (44) | 0.85 (0.70 to 1.02) |
| Smoking status | |||
| Never smoked | 32 051 (66) | 273 (57) | Reference |
| Past smoker | 11 287 (23) | 120 (25) | 1.14 (0.92 to 1.42) |
| Current smoker | 5516 (11) | 85 (18) | 1.86 (1.46 to 2.38) |
| Pack-years cigarettes | |||
| None | 32 051 (65) | 273 (57) | Reference |
| <5 pack-years | 5969 (12) | 47 (10) | 0.93 (0.68 to 1.27) |
| 5–18 pack-years | 5675 (12) | 77 (16) | 1.54 (1.20 to 1.99) |
| >18 pack-years | 5233 (11) | 81 (17) | 1.63 (1.27 to 2.11) |
*ORs and 95% CIs, adjusting all other covariates by age.
†Of the males, 112 non-cases and no cases were spouses; of the females, 812 non-cases and 9 cases were applicators.
RA, rheumatoid arthritis.