Association between Body Mass Index and Acute Traumatic Workplace Injury in Hourly Manufacturing Employees

In this study, the authors examined the distribution and odds of occupational injury among hourly employees of a US aluminum manufacturing company by body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2). In 2002, height and weight data on 7,690 workers at eight plants were extracted from medical records from a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of epidemiology 2007-07, Vol.166 (2), p.204-211
Main Authors: Pollack, Keshia M., Sorock, Gary S., Slade, Martin D., Cantley, Linda, Sircar, Kanta, Taiwo, Oyebode, Cullen, Mark R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
accidents
Accidents, Occupational - classification
Accidents, Occupational - statistics & numerical data
Adult
Analysis. Health state
Biological and medical sciences
Body Mass Index
Confidence Intervals
Epidemiology
Female
General aspects
Humans
Injuries
Injury Severity Score
Male
Manufacturers
Medical Records
Medical sciences
Metabolic diseases
Metallurgy
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Multicenter Studies as Topic
Obesity
occupational
Occupational health
Occupational medicine
Occupational safety
overweight
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
risk factors
safety
United States - epidemiology
Weight control
workplace
wounds and injuries
Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries - etiology
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Summary:In this study, the authors examined the distribution and odds of occupational injury among hourly employees of a US aluminum manufacturing company by body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2). In 2002, height and weight data on 7,690 workers at eight plants were extracted from medical records from annual physicals, and body mass index was categorized. Information on traumatic injuries recorded between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2004, was obtained from a company injury surveillance system. Twenty-nine percent of the employees (n = 2,221) sustained at least one injury. Approximately 85 percent of injured workers were classified as overweight or obese. The odds of injury in the highest obesity group as compared with the ideal body mass index group were 2.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.34, 3.53), after adjustment for sex, age, education, smoking, physical demands of the job, plant process and location, time since hire, time in the job, and significant interaction terms. Injuries to the leg or knee were especially prevalent among members of this very obese group. Research findings support an association between body mass index and traumatic workplace injuries among manufacturing employees. Workplace safety personnel might consider adding policies or programs that address weight reduction and maintenance as part of ongoing comprehensive workplace safety strategies.
ISSN:0002-9262
1476-6256
DOI:10.1093/aje/kwm058