Frailty and occupational falls among older Japanese workers: An Internet-based cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Gerontology
• Public Health

Background:

• Occupational falls pose a significant risk to older workers, particularly in the tertiary sector.
• The association between frailty and occupational falls in this specific demographic remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between frailty and occupational falls among older workers in the tertiary industry.

Main Methods:

• An internet-based cross-sectional study involving 5000 older workers (60-75 years) in the tertiary industry.
• Frailty was assessed using the Frailty Screening Index (FSI) and categorized into robust, pre-frailty, or frailty.
• Occupational falls in the past 12 months were recorded, and logistic regression analysis was employed.

Main Results:

• 6.1% of participants reported at least one occupational fall in the preceding year.
• Pre-frailty (aOR: 1.95) and frailty (aOR: 4.26) were significantly associated with increased odds of occupational falls compared to being robust.
• These associations remained significant even when considering falls with injury.

Conclusions:

• Frailty is a significant risk factor for occupational falls in older workers within the tertiary industry.
• Employers should consider implementing frailty screening for older workers.
• Proactive countermeasures based on screening results are recommended to mitigate fall risks.