title: Pulmonary health effects of agriculture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Occupational exposures in the agricultural industry are associated with numerous lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, lung cancer, and interstitial lung diseases. Efforts are ongoing to ascertain contributing factors to these negative respiratory outcomes and improve monitoring of environmental factors leading to disease. In this review, recently published studies investigating the deleterious effects of occupational exposures in the agricultural industry are discussed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Occupational exposures to numerous agricultural environment aerosols, including pesticides, fungi, and bacteria are associated with impaired respiratory function and disease. Increases in certain farming practices, including mushroom and greenhouse farming, present new occupational exposure concerns. Improved detection methods may provide opportunities to better monitor safe exposure levels to known lung irritants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the agricultural industry, occupational exposures to organic and inorganic aerosols lead to increased risk for lung disease among workers. Increased awareness of respiratory risks and improved monitoring of agricultural environments are necessary to limit pulmonary health risks to exposed populations.
authors.affiliation: aVA Nebraska Western Iowa Healthcare System bDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
authors.forename: Tara M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Nordgren
authors.forename: Kristina L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Bailey
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000383:Agriculture; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D016273:Occupational Exposure
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational