본 연구에서는 농업인들 사이에서 유병률이 높은 천식, 만성폐쇄성폐질환, 상기도질환, 외인성 알레르기성폐포염의 위험 요소인 물질과 작업에 대해 이전 연구들을 검토하고 분석해보았다. 조사 결과, 먼지 노출, 가스 흡입, 농약 노출, 그리고 생물성 연소물질 흡입을 주 원인으로 볼 수 있었다. 본 연구가 근거 중심의 효과적인 농업인 호흡기계 질환 예방활동의 기반 자료로 활용될 수 있기를 기대한다.
Introduction: Agricultural workers are exposed to physical, chemical, and biological hazards through various procedures. In this study, we investigated the substances and procedures that contribute to developing asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), upper airway disease, and extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) in farmers. In this literature review, we searched and screened studies in PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and RISS from 1980 to 2024. We reviewed existing research on factors contributing to asthma, COPD, upper airway disease, and EAA among both domestic and international farmers. Main body: A total of ten reviews on asthma, ten on COPD, five on upper airway disease, and four on EAA were included in this literature review. For asthma, identified risk factors included allergens, organic and inorganic dust, exposure to gases, fumes, and vapors, pesticides, insecticides, working inside swine and dairy confinements, and welding. For COPD, risk factors included allergens, organic and inorganic dust, exposure to gases, fumes, and vapors, biomass smoke, insecticides, raising hogs and beef cattle, and low-weight molecules. For upper airway disease, risk factors included pollen, allergens, pesticides, organic dust, and working in confinement. For EAA, occupational history, low greenhouse height, low ventilation frequency, pesticides, and organic dust were identified as risk factors. Conclusions: In this study, we reviewed and analyzed previous studies on substances and procedures considered risk factors for four respiratory diseases with high prevalence among farmers. We hope this study can be used as a basis for future research to develop evidence-based and effective respiratory disease prevention activities for farmers.