Impact of workplace injury on opioid dependence, abuse, illicit use and overdose: a 36-month retrospective study of insurance claims

ObjectivesTo examine the impact of workplace injury on opioid dependence, abuse and overdose (opioid-related morbidity) and if severity of injury increases the hazard of these health effects.MethodsWe used MarketScan databases to follow injured and propensity score matched non-injured workers, both...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2020-09, Vol.77 (9), p.648-653
Main Authors: Asfaw, Abay, Boden, Leslie I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abuse
Adult
Compensation
Consumer-driven health plans
Dependence
Drug abuse
Drug overdose
Drug Overdose - epidemiology
Female
Health insurance
Humans
Illicit Drugs
Injuries
injury
Injury prevention
Insurance, Health
Male
Medical personnel
Middle Aged
Morbidity
Mortality
Narcotics
Occupational health
occupational health practice
Occupational Injuries - statistics & numerical data
Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Opioids
Overdose
Practice
Prescription drugs
Propensity Score
Public health
Retrospective Studies
Sociodemographics
Statistical models
United States - epidemiology
Variables
Workers
Workers' Compensation - statistics & numerical data
Workplace accidents
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Summary:ObjectivesTo examine the impact of workplace injury on opioid dependence, abuse and overdose (opioid-related morbidity) and if severity of injury increases the hazard of these health effects.MethodsWe used MarketScan databases to follow injured and propensity score matched non-injured workers, both without prior opioid-related diagnoses. Using a Cox proportional hazard model, we examined the impact of workplace injury on opioid-related morbidity.ResultsThe hazard of opioid-related morbidity for injured workers was 1.79 times than that of matched non-injured workers (95% CI 1.89 to 3.60). For medical-only and lost-time injured workers, it was respectively 1.54 (95% CI 1.02 to 2.32) and 2.91 (95% CI 1.75 to 4.84) times that of non-injured workers.ConclusionsReducing workplace injury or severity of workplace injury, as well as efforts to ensure appropriate opioid prescribing for injured workers, may help to reduce the societal costs of opioid use.
ISSN:1351-0711
1470-7926
DOI:10.1136/oemed-2020-106535