Neighborhood farm density, types of agriculture, and depressive symptoms among older farmers: a cross-sectional study

Mariko Kanamori,Naoki Kondo,Masamichi Hanazato,Katsunori Kondo,Andrew Stickley

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-10469-6

Abstract

BackgroundFarmers may have an increased risk for poor mental health. In connection with this, factors specific to the neighborhood environment such as farm density and the type of agriculture, might be important for mental wellbeing. In this study we aimed to clarify the cross-level interaction on depressive symptoms between farm density at the neighborhood level by type of agriculture and the longest occupation of individuals (farmer or non-farmer).MethodsData came from the 2016 wave of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) that were linked to governmental agricultural data. Information was analyzed from 147,549 respondents aged 65 years or older, residing in 1024 neighborhoods in 39 municipalities. We calculated farm (crop or animal husbandry) density at the neighborhood level, dividing the number of agricultural management entities by the population. Three-level (individual, neighborhood, and municipality) Poisson regression analysis was used to calculate the prevalence rate ratios of depressive symptoms.ResultsThe prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher among individuals whose longest occupation was farmer compared to non-farmer. The estimated probability of depressive symptoms by a cross-level interaction analysis showed that among farmers of both genders, those who were residing in neighborhoods where the farm density was low had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, regardless of the type of agriculture. The slope of the relationship between depressive symptoms and animal husbandry farm density varied by occupation, with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms observed in male farmers compared to male non-farmers.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of depressive symptoms among farmers in neighborhoods with a low farm density may reflect a scarcity of formal and informal social support in such communities. The health effects of the neighborhood environment on farmers, such as farm density, which may vary by the type of agriculture, should be further researched.

Highlights

Farmers may have an increased risk for poor mental health
Descriptive data of the study sample with the prevalence of depressive symptoms showed that 17.1% of all participants had depressive symptoms, and that the prevalence of depression was higher among farmers than non-farmers
Cross-level interaction analyses showed that the probability of having depressive symptoms among farmers varied by farm density with a higher risk being observed among those who were residing in neighborhoods with a low farm density, regardless of the type of agriculture

Summary

Introduction

Farmers may have an increased risk for poor mental health. In connection with this, factors specific to the neighborhood environment such as farm density and the type of agriculture, might be important for mental wellbeing. As the number of Japanese farms has decreased, it is possible that many farmers may have lost both friends and colleagues as other farmers have left farming communities. Losing this potential source of social support and social participation might have had a detrimental impact on farmers’ mental health [9, 11]. To our knowledge, as yet, no study has investigated the association between agricultural structural change, as reflected for instance, in neighborhood farm density, and farmers’ mental health, despite some evidence that Japanese farmers might be at an increased risk for worse mental health outcomes such as suicide [3, 12,13,14]

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