Roles of age, length of service and job in work-related injury: a prospective study of 63,620 person-years in female workers.

BACKGROUND: The roles of age, length of service and job in various work-related injury types are unknown and deserve investigations among female workers. This study assessed their roles in the occurrence of injury. METHODS: Three-year prospective study of all 22,952 permanently employed women at the French national railway company: 63,620 person-years, 756 injuries with working days lost, coded using the company's injury classification derived from that of the French health insurance scheme. We investigated the incidence of four types of injury: fall on same level, fall to lower level, materials/equipment/objects handling, and other injuries. Data were analyzed using negative binomial regression. RESULTS: Workers aged <25 were subject to a higher risk for all types of injuries. Older workers (45-55 years) were subject to a higher injury risk for fall on same level and fall to lower level. For fall on same level as for fall to lower level the relative risk decreased steadily with increasing length of service with the company, from 1.60 for 1 year to 0.50-0.60 for ≥30 years. For injuries due to materials/equipment/objects handling the relative risk decreased from 1.05 for one year to 0.49 for 5-9 years, and then increased to about 1.50 for 20-29 years and ≥30 years. CONCLUSIONS: Younger and shorter lengths of service were at risk for various types of injuries. Higher length of service was at risk for injury due to materials/equipment/objects handling. Preventive measures should consider the respective risks associated with age, years of employment and job.

Contributions of occupational hazards and human factors in occupational injuries and their associations with job, age and type of injuries in railway workers.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the contributions of environmental hazards, technical dysfunctions, lack of work organization, know-how and job knowledge, and other human factors in occupational injuries and their relationships with job, age and type of accidents in railway workers. METHODS: The sample included 1,604 male workers, having had at least one occupational injury with sick leave during a 2-year period in voluntary French railway services. A standardized questionnaire was filled in by the person-in-charge of prevention, with the injured worker. Data analysis was performed via the chi(2) independence test and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with Mantel-Haenszel test. RESULTS: The environmental hazards were implicated in 24.7%, technical dysfunctions in 16.0%, lack of work organization in 13.7%, lack of know-how in 17.6%, lack of job knowledge in 5.2%, and the other human factors in 31.9% of occupational injuries. The injuries caused by lack of know-how or job knowledge were more represented in workers aged less than 30 (ORs adjusted for job 1.45, 95% CI 1.02-2.06 and 2.06, 1.22-3.49, respectively), those by environmental hazards in energy and electrical traction maintenance operators and train drivers (ORs adjusted for age 2.04, 1.16-3.58 and 1.80, 1.01-3.20, respectively), and those by lack of work organization in mechanical maintenance operators and in energy and electrical traction maintenance operators (ORs adjusted for age 2.24, 1.13-4.45 and 1.83, 1.30-2.57, respectively). The causes considered were strongly related with the type of injuries. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that environmental hazards, technical dysfunctions, lack of work organization, lack of knowledge and other human factors had important contributions in injuries, and they were related to job, age and type of injuries. These findings are useful for prevention. Training is necessary for young workers. The occupational physician could help the workers to be more aware of the risks.

Correlates of occupational injuries for various jobs in railway workers: a case-control study.

Few studies have simultaneously addressed the role of occupational factors, individual characteristics and living conditions in occupational injuries, and to the best of our knowledge none on railway workers. This survey assessed the roles of these factors in various types of injuries and for various jobs in French railway workers. This case-control study was conducted on 1,305 male workers with an occupational injury during a one-year period and 1,305 male controls. A standardized questionnaire was administrated by an occupational physician. Data were analyzed by the logistic regression method. The significant factors found for all the injuries combined were: young age (<30 yr) (adjusted odds ratio 1.47, 95% CI 1.01-2.14), 5 yr or less in present job (1.43, 1.15-1.78), sleep disorders (1.30, 1.08-1.57), current smoker (1.27, 1.08-1.50), and no do-it-yourself or gardening activity (1.23, 1.02-1.48). Young age, sleep disorders, and smoking were common for several types of injuries. The role of these factors differed between various job categories. Among injured workers sick leaves of eight days or over were more frequent in current smokers and overweight subjects. In conclusion, young age, lack of experience, job dissatisfaction, sleep disorders, smoking, and lack of physical activity increase the risk of occupational injuries. The risks induced were related with jobs. Preventive measures concerning work conditions and these factors could be conducted in railway workers generally, and especially in workers most at risk. The occupational physician could make workers more sensitive to these risks and help them to improve their living conditions during medical examinations.