Prevalence of work-site injuries and relationship between obesity and injury among U.S. workers: NHIS 2004–2012 (original) (raw)

2016, Journal of Safety Research

Introduction-Studies have reported associations between obesity and injury in a single occupation or industry. Our study estimated the prevalence of work-site injuries and investigated the association between obesity and work-site injury in a nationally representative sample of U.S. workers. Methods-Self-reported weight, height, and injuries within the previous three months were collected annually for U.S. workers in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2004-2012. Participants were categorized as normal weight (BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m 2), overweight (BMI: 25.0-29.9), obese I (BMI: 30.0-34.9), and obese II (BMI: 35+). The prevalence of injury and prevalence ratios from fitted logistic regression models was used to assess relationships between obesity and injury after adjusting for covariates. Sampling weights were incorporated using SUDAAN software. Results-During the 9-year study period from 2004 to 2012, 1120 workers (78 workers per 10,000) experienced a work-related injury during the previous three months. The anatomical sites with the highest prevalence of injury were the back (14.3/10,000 ± 1.2), fingers (11.5 ± 1.3), and knees (7.1 ± 0.8). The most common types of injuries were sprains/strains/twists (41.5% of all injuries), cuts (20.0%), and fractures (11.8%). Compared to normal weight workers, overweight and obese workers were more likely to experience work-site injuries [overweight: PR = 1.25 (95% CI = 1.04-1.52); obese I: 1.41 (1.14-1.74); obese II: 1.68 (1.32-2.14)]. These injuries were more ✩ Author contributions: Ja K. Gu: study conception and design, drafting of manuscript, data analysis, interpretation of data Luenda E. Charles: study conception and design, critical revision, interpretation of data Michael E. Andrew: data analysis Claudia C. Ma: acquisition of data Tara A. Hartley: assistance with questions related to the accuracy or integrity of the data John M. Violanti: critical revision. Cecil M. Burchfiel: critical revision, final approval of the version to be published.