Anxiety and depression among dairy farmers: the impact of COPD

Alicia Guillien,1 Lucie Laurent,2 Thibaud Soumagne,3 Marc Puyraveau,4 Jean-Jacques Laplante,5 Pascal Andujar,6 Isabella Annesi-Maesano,7 Nicolas Roche,8,9 Bruno Degano,1,* Jean-Charles Dalphin3,* 1Research Unit EA 3920, Franche-Comté University, Besançon, France; 2Department of Clinical Physiology, University Hospital, Besançon, France; 3Department of Respiratory Diseases, University Hospital, Besançon, France; 4Clinical Methodology Center, University Hospital, Besançon, France; 5Department of Occupational Diseases, Mutualité sociale agricole, Besançon, France; 6University of Medical Sciences, Paris-est Créteil University, Créteil, France; 7Epidemiology of Allergic and Respiratory Diseases Department (EPAR), Saint-Antoine Medical School, Paris, France; 8Respiratory and Intensive Care Medicine, Cochin Hospital (AP-HP), University Paris Descartes, Paris, France; 9Research Unit EA 2511, University Paris Descartes, Paris, France *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and farming are two conditions that have been associated with an increased risk of anxiety and depression. Dairy farming is an independent risk factor for COPD.Objective: To test the hypotheses that the prevalence of anxiety and/or depression is higher in dairy farmers with COPD than in farmers without COPD, and higher in dairy farmers with COPD than in non-farmers with COPD.Methods: Anxiety and depression were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in 100 dairy farmers with COPD (DF-COPD), 98 dairy farmers without COPD (DF-controls), 85 non-farming patients with COPD (NF-COPD) and 89 non-farming subjects without COPD (NF-controls), all identified by screening in the Franche-Comté region of France. Anxiety and depression were considered present when the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score was ≥8. COPD