TY - JOUR T1 - Occupational injuries among older workers with disabilities: a prospective cohort study of the Health and Retirement Survey, 1992 to 1994. JF - Am J Public Health Y1 - 1998 A1 - Zwerling, Craig A1 - Nancy L. Sprince A1 - Charles S. Davis A1 - Paul S. Whitten A1 - Robert B Wallace A1 - Steven G Heeringa KW - Accidents, Occupational KW - Age Distribution KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Analysis of Variance KW - Cross-Sectional Studies KW - Disabled Persons KW - Female KW - Health Surveys KW - Humans KW - Logistic Models KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Odds Ratio KW - Prospective Studies KW - Retirement KW - Risk Factors KW - United States AB -
OBJECTIVES: We tested the hypothesis that among older workers, disabilities in general, and hearing and visual impairments in particular, are risk factors for occupational injuries.
METHODS: Using the first 2 interviews of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of Americans aged 51 to 61 years, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 5600 employed nonfarmers.
RESULTS: Testing a logistic regression model developed in a previous cross-sectional study, we found that the following occupations and risk factors were associated with occupational injury as estimated by odds ratios: service personnel, odds ratio = 1.71 (95% confidence interval = 1.13, 2.57); mechanics and repairers, 3.47 (1.98, 6.10); operators and assemblers, 2.33 (1.51, 3.61); laborers, 3.16 (1.67, 5.98); jobs requiring heavy lifting, 2.05 (1.55, 2.70); self-employment, 0.50 (0.34, 0.73); and self-reported disability, 1.58 (1.14, 2.19). Replacing the general disability variable with specific hearing and visual impairment variables, we found that poor hearing (1.35 [0.95, 1.93]) and poor sight (1.45 [0.94, 2.22]) both had elevated odds ratios.
CONCLUSIONS: Poor sight and poor hearing, as well as work disabilities in general, are associated with occupational injuries among older workers.
PB - 88 VL - 88 UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9807538/ IS - 11 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9807538?dopt=Abstract U4 - Labor/Occupational Injury/Health Status/Basic Demographics/Health Behaviors/Risk Factors/Disability/Disability ER -