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

Abstract

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.