Radio Iowa You are here: Home Study finds high potential for developing dementia for agricultural workers Kanika Arora (UI-photo) A University of Iowa study finds people who work long-term in the agricultural industry have 46% greater odds of developing dementia than those in other fields. Professor Kanika Arora in the U-I College of Public Health, says hearing impairment, depression and isolation can all be linked to dementia and to farm work, but it’s possible pesticide exposure is also a culprit. “We did find that agricultural workers had lower scores on distinct cognitive tests related to memory and attention and processing speed,” Arora says. “While our data does not allow us to examine the role of pesticide exposure directly, previous work has found links between a history of such exposure and poor scores in these tests.”