How can agricultural chemicals affect your health? Here are five key findings the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) has made since 2015.

• Age-related macular degeneration was associated with using chlordane, DDT, malathion and captan.
• Daily use of diesel tractors was associated with increased rates of lung cancer.
• Protective glove use and hygiene practices were associated with a reduced rate of Parkinson’s Disease among farmers using paraquat, permethrin, and trifluralin.
• Alachlor use was associated with higher rates of laryngeal cancer.
• Glyphosate use was not associated with overall cancer risk.

About AHS

AHS is a prospective study of cancer and other health outcomes in a cohort of licensed pesticide applicators and their spouses from Iowa and North Carolina. The AHS began in 1993 with the goal of answering important questions about how agricultural, lifestyle, and genetic factors affect the health of farming populations. The study is a collaborative effort of investigators from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

More than 89,000 farmers and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina have been involved in the study since 1993.

The AHS will soon begin inviting adult children of AHS participants to enroll in a new study called the Early Life Exposures in Agriculture Study. It will focus on how growing up on a farm impacts health in early adulthood and beyond.

To learn more about the AHS, see  https://aghealth.nih.gov/news/2018.html.