Comparison of Self-Rated Health among Characteristic Groups of Vegetable Greenhouse Farmers Based on Exposure to Pesticide Residuals: A Latent Profile Analysis

OBJECTIVE: The current study was aimed at using a latent profile analysis (LPA) model to classify greenhouse farmers into a potential cluster according to their exposure to pesticide residuals. Further, the association between self-rated health (SRH) and the cluster exposed to pesticide residual was explored. METHODS: Four hundred sixty-four farmers from vegetable greenhouses were selected, their SRH information was gathered through questionnaires from the “Self-Rated Health Measurement Scale (SRHMS)” Version 1.0, and the corresponding pesticide residuals were detected in a laboratory. The linear mixed regression model was employed for association assessment. RESULTS: Two latent clusters were extracted as samples, and the results showed that a high amount of pesticide residual accounted for poor physical health, but did not show statistical significance. In addition, an inverse significant association was observed between psychosocial symptoms and negative emotion and pesticide residual level. Furthermore, a diversity of significant relationship was observed in social health and its corresponding dimensions with latent cluster. CONCLUSIONS: LPA offers a holistic and parsimonious method to identify high-risk health clusters of greenhouse workers in various health aspects and allows for a personality-targeted intervention by a local health department.