How pesticides, social isolation and other factors raise the risk of stress and mental disorders among farmers – review of scientific evidence

This report helped the United Kingdom’s Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee learn about the current scientific evidence concerning the mental health of farmers in its inquiry into the problem. This report summarises results from past literature involving a systematic review of 167 publications which examined the mental health of farmers, referenced below. The review used a gold standard method called PRISMA (the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) which promotes a high-quality approach in the way that research comprehensively search for, find and extract data from published research. It is an important method in science because it helps readers assess key questions – what research has been published about a topic, what is the quality of that research, and what can be summarised from that research? This report highlights the following as contributors to mental ill health among farmers: exposure to pesticides, prior injury or a physical illness, hazardous or strenuous working conditions, financial difficulties, loneliness, family vs. work role-conflict and climate uncertainty.