Health, Safety, and Aging in Elderly Farmers in the United States and Beyond: A Systematic Scoping Review

Objectives: Understanding elderly farmers’ health and risk factors is fundamental to preventing agricultural injuries and illnesses as the farming population ages. Few reviews have focused on how aging impacts farmers’ health and safety. This study reviews scientific literature that characterizes aging farmers’ physical and mental health, work-related risk factors, and potential interventions to support healthy work and aging. Methods: In accordance with the framework established by Arksey and O’Malley (2003), we performed a scoping review by systematically searching the following databases: MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCOhost), Web of Science (via Clarivate), AGRIS, PsycINFO (via APA PsycNet) and Embase (via Elsevier). Studies that examined elderly farmers’ health and related risk factors as the primary outcome were included. Eligibility was limited to studies published in English between 1980 and 2024, conducted in the United States or globally. Included publications were organized, thematically coded, and their key findings were synthesized (without meta-analysis). Results: Ninety-six publications were included in the final review. Our review indicates that injuries, chronic and occupational diseases, mental health, health risk factors, aging, and retirement considerations have been reported among aging farmers. Significant gaps were identified in the study of healthy aging farmers, particularly in longitudinal studies assessing the relationship between long-term occupational hazard exposure and adverse health outcomes over time. Conclusion: A deeper understanding of aging and farmers’ health, particularly through longitudinal panel studies, is needed to develop targeted prevention strategies that sustain productivity until a reasonable retirement age. Additionally, research informs societal and policy interventions that support farmers in transitioning to retirement when appropriate.