Relationships between certain individual characteristics and occupational injuries for various jobs in the construction industry: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: There is little published about the role of individual characteristics in occupational injuries. Construction workers have a high rate of injury; we assessed 11 personal characteristics in this professional sector. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted on 880 male workers who had had at least one occupational injury during a 2-year period and 880 controls. A questionnaire was administered by an occupational physician. Statistical analysis was made via logistic regression method. RESULTS: Young age (<30 years), sleep disorders and current smoker influenced all the injuries combined. Sleep disorders and young age were common risk factors for several jobs. Physical disabilities and no sporting activity had a role in masons, and 5 years or less in present job in plumbers and electricians only. Sleep disorders influenced both the injuries with and without hospitalization; young age, current smoker, and physical disability influenced those without hospitalization only. CONCLUSIONS: Young age, sleep disorders, smoking, disabilities, sporting activity, and experience influenced the occupational injuries. The risk for each worker depended on his job. Occupational physicians could inform the workers of these risks and encourage them to take remedial action.

Relationships of job, age, and life conditions with the causes and severity of occupational injuries in construction workers.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationships of job, age, and life conditions with the causes and severity of occupational injuries in male construction labourers. METHODS: The sample included 880 male construction workers having had at least one occupational injury with subsequent sick leave. The survey used a standardised questionnaire, filled in by the occupational physician in the presence of the subject: socio-demographic data, job, safety training, smoking habit, alcohol consumption, sporting activities, physical disabilities, hearing, vision, and sleep disorders. Statistical analysis was via the logistic regression method. RESULTS: Logistic models showed that falls and injuries from the handling of objects or hand tools was similar for all jobs, while masons, plumbers and electricians had a higher risk of injury from moving objects, and carpenters, roofers and civil-engineering workers were more exposed to injury from construction machinery and devices. Age <30 was related to injury from hand tools [adjusted OR (95%CI) 2.20 (1.28-3.79)]; sleep disorders and hearing disorders to those from moving objects [ORs 2.29 (1.27-4.12) and 1.85 (1.01-3.41) respectively]; no sporting activity to those from the handling of objects [OR 1.54 (1.09-2.17)]; and being overweight to falls on the same level [OR 2.04 (1.30-3.21)] and falls to a lower level [OR 1.55 (1.13-2.13)]. Injuries from the handling of objects were less frequent in overweight workers [OR 0.62 (0.46-0.84)]. Injuries with hospitalisation or sick leave > or =60 days were associated with age > or =30 and hearing disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The causes of injuries were related to jobs. Prevention through working conditions could be made against the revealed risks. The risks for each worker depended on age, body mass index, hearing disorders, sleep disorders, and sporting activities. The occupational physician could inform the workers of these risks and encourage them to practise sporting activities and reduce their hearing disorders and sleep disorders.