Exposure to Air Pollution and the Prevalence of Respiratory Symptoms in Northeast Ohio Farmworkers

The burden of chronic respiratory disease among the Latino farmworker community remains poorly understood. We aim to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported respiratory symptoms in a cohort of Latino farmworkers and identify the association between occupational and environmental exposures and symptom burden. Utilizing participatory mapping in combination with satellite derived models of ambient air pollution exposure, we quantified estimated exposure to PM_2.5 over the harvest season. Self-reported exposure to pesticides, crowded housing and tobacco were evaluated via survey, along with self-reported prevalence of respiratory symptoms. One third of our participants (33.7%) reported persistent respiratory symptoms. We did not identify an association between PM_2.5 concentrations and self-reported respiratory symptoms. Loading and applying pesticides, and an increased ratio of workers per bedroom were associated with an increased risk of self-reported respiratory symptoms. Within our sample, respiratory symptoms were prevalent at a higher frequency than reported in national farmworker surveys. No association between estimated exposure to ambient air pollution and self-reported respiratory symptoms was identified.