Work disability among sugarcane agroindustry workers in Brazil: an ecological study (2012–2021)

Objective  To analyze the social security work-related temporary disability benefits granted to workers in the Brazilian sugarcane agroindustry, comparing groups engaged in manual and mechanized activities.

Methods  This ecological study used secondary data on formal employment and social security benefits from 2012 to 2021. Annual and cumulative incidence rates over the study period were calculated, stratified according to manual and mechanized activity groups, as well as relative risks (RR) between groups.

Results  A total of 102,974 benefits were granted, with 76.4% occurring among workers engaged in manual activities and 23.6% among those in mechanized activities, corresponding to cumulative incidence rates of 32.5 and 26.9 per 1,000 workers, respectively. The RR was 1.21, indicating higher risk among workers performing manual activities. For work-related benefits, the RR was 1.69. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) were more frequent among workers in manual activities (26.3%) than among those in mechanized activities (20.7%). The main cause for granting accident-related benefits in the first group was dorsalgia (16.7%), whereas wrist and hand fractures predominated in the second group (12.3%).

Conclusion  There was a reduction in benefits over the study period. The frequency of MSD was higher among workers performing manual activities, whereas traumatic injuries were more frequent among those engaged in mechanized activities. Investments in training, safety, regulatory enforcement, and improvements in working conditions are needed in the sugarcane sector.

Keywords
Automation; Rural Workers; Sugarcane; Social Security; Occupational Health