Background: Pig farmers are exposed to organic dust with pro-inflammatory capacities. This makes it likely that they suffer from organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS). No studies that included unexposed control populations are available so far.
Methods: The prevalence of ODTS was established by the use of questionnaires in a group of 239 pig farmers and 311 rural controls working in nonagricultural occupations.
Results: Pig farmers suffered more often from ODTS than controls (6.4% vs. 2.6%, P < 0.05). Organic dust toxic syndrome was associated with symptoms of atopy (prevalence odds ratio (POR) 3.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-8.0) and with the use of wood-shavings as bedding (POR 4.3, 95% CI 1.2-15.6). An inverse association with the number of years worked as pig farmer was found (up to 5 years vs. more than 5 years; POR 5.0, 95% CI 0.8-32.9).
Conclusions: The prevalence of ODTS was elevated among pig farmers when compared to nonfarming, rural controls.