Abstract
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that workers who use medications that cause drowsiness are at increased risk of having an acute occupational injury. To test the hypothesis, a case-control study (n=1223 cases, n=1202 controls) was conducted where the sampling frame was composed of employees who had Worker's Compensation claims in one Midwestern state between March and October of 1997. Cases were employees whose cause of injury was acute (i.e. caught in, struck by, or fall). Controls, on the other hand, were employees whose cause of injury was not acute (i.e. strain injuries). The results of the study supported the hypothesis by showing that the use of drowsing medications significantly increased the risk of having an acute occupational injury (odds ratio=2.45, 95% CI = 1.00–6.01), after adjusting for 12 other risk factors. Age modified the effect such that only younger workers who took drowsing medication were at increased risk of acute occupational injuries.
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