New research by ADR UK Fellow Dr Claire Hargreaves has provided insight on the health of farmers in Wales.
The research, which was supported by ADR Wales team members Rhodri Johnson, Sian Morrison-Rees and Paul Caskie, has linked agricultural records with healthcare data held in the SAIL Databank to provide one of the first overviews looking specifically at farmers’ health in Wales.
Dr Hargreaves’ analysis used the ADR UK Flagship Dataset, Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection (AD|ARC) linked with health data, covering 18,450 farmers and found musculoskeletal, respiratory and skin conditions were the most commonly diagnosed health issues in primary care. While diagnoses of mental health and circulatory conditions increased steadily between 2011 and 2024.
Healthcare use also rose over the study period, with more outpatient appointments, emergency department visits and hospital admissions, particularly among older farmers. Researchers found circulatory disease remained the leading cause of death among Welsh farmers, differing from the wider Welsh population where cancer has become the leading cause.
The findings highlight the value of linking administrative datasets to build a clearer picture of the health challenges facing farming communities beyond self-reported surveys. Dr Hargreaves said the evidence could help policymakers and healthcare providers better target support for farming communities, where long working hours, rural isolation and barriers to accessing healthcare may contribute to poorer health outcomes and delayed treatment.