Orientation Document

Orientation Document
	Executive Committee
	Study and Cohort Descriptions
	Procedures for Collaboration
	Ongoing Substudies
	Publications
	AHS Support

On-going Field Studies

1. EPA Exposure (Pesticide Exposure Study) - The purpose of this study is to measure exposure to pesticides among private pesticide applicators and to evaluate AHS exposure algorithms. The study does this by directly measuring exposure to target applied pesticides among a subset of the AHS cohort, comparing measurements to exposure intensity estimates based on responses to questionnaires administered earlier in the study, identifying exposure factors, and assessing spouse and child exposure to the pesticides.

2. Farm Family Take-Home Pesticide Exposure Study - This study seeks to evaluate pesticide contamination and exposure in farm homes and families, identify potential environmental and behavioral risk factors, and develop recommendations to prevent pesticide exposure among farm families.

3. Orchard Fungicide Exposure Study - This study focuses on farmers who personally apply fungicides to apple and peach orchards. The objectives of this study are to measure actual exposures to the target fungicides using both environmental and biological measures of exposure, and to identify and quantify the major determinants of exposure.

4. Factors associated with self-reported Parkinson's Disease in the Agricultural Health Study - This case-control study focuses on the environmental and genetic causes of Parkinson's Disease.

5. Rheumatoid Arthritis Study - The purpose of this study is threefold, 1) confirm self-reported diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune diseases; 2) identify screening questions that increase the likelihood that a self-reported diagnosis is true; and 3) assess risk factors for RA and other autoimmune diseases in the AHS cohort.

6. Iowa Corn Farmers Study - This study looks for biologic changes associated with farming practices and exposures over the course of the growing season through periodic collection of questionnaires and samples of urine and blood. Respondents include farmers who plant field corn and apply atrazine and chorpyrifos to their crop, and non-farmers serving as controls for the study.