Effects of Temperatures and Heatwaves on Occupational Injuries in the Agricultural Sector in Italy

Chiara Di Blasi, Alessandro Marinaccio, Claudio Gariazzo, Luca Taiano, Michela Bonafede, Antonio Leva, Marco Morabito, Paola Michelozzi, Francesca K. de’ Donato () and on behalf of the Worklimate Collaborative Group
Additional contact information
Chiara Di Blasi: Department of Epidemiology Lazio Regional Health Service, ASL ROMA 1, 00147 Rome, Italy
Alessandro Marinaccio: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Claudio Gariazzo: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Luca Taiano: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Michela Bonafede: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Antonio Leva: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Marco Morabito: Institute of Bioeconomy, National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Florence, Italy
Paola Michelozzi: Department of Epidemiology Lazio Regional Health Service, ASL ROMA 1, 00147 Rome, Italy
Francesca K. de’ Donato: Department of Epidemiology Lazio Regional Health Service, ASL ROMA 1, 00147 Rome, Italy
on behalf of the Worklimate Collaborative Group: Membership of the Worklimate Collaborative Group is provided in the Acknowledgments.

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: The effects of heat on health have been well documented, while less is known about the effects among agricultural workers. Our aim is to estimate the effects and impacts of heat on occupational injuries in the agricultural sector in Italy. Occupational injuries in the agricultural sector from the Italian national workers’ compensation authority (INAIL) and daily mean air temperatures from Copernicus ERA5-land for a five-year period (2014–2018) were considered. Distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM) were used to estimate the relative risk and attributable injuries for increases in daily mean air temperatures between the 75th and 99th percentile and during heatwaves. Analyses were stratified by age, professional qualification, and severity of injury. A total of 150,422 agricultural injuries were considered and the overall relative risk of injury for exposure to high temperatures was 1.13 (95% CI: 1.08; 1.18). A higher risk was observed among younger workers (15–34 years) (1.23 95% CI: 1.14; 1.34) and occasional workers (1.25 95% CI: 1.03; 1.52). A total of 2050 heat-attributable injuries were estimated in the study period. Workers engaged in outdoor and labour-intensive activities in the agricultural sector are at greater risk of injury and these results can help target prevention actions for climate change adaptation.

Keywords: work-related injuries; occupational injuries; agricultural sector; temperatures; heat waves; timeseries studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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