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

Occupational falls are a major problem for older workers, especially those in the tertiary industry. Recently, it has been suggested that frailty is associated with occupational falls, but it is unclear whether this holds true for older workers in the tertiary industry. This study examined the relationship between frailty and occupational falls among older workers in the tertiary industry.

This was an Internet-based cross-sectional study. We recruited 5000 older workers (age, 60-75 years) employed in the tertiary industry who were registered with an Internet research company. Frailty was assessed using the Frailty Screening Index's five items, and participants were classified into robust, pre-frailty, or frailty groups. Occupational falls were defined as falls experienced in the past 12 months while at work. The relationship between frailty and occupational falls was analyzed by logistic regression analysis.

It was found that 6.1% of participants had experienced at least one occupational fall in the past 12 months. On the multivariate analysis, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for falls was higher with pre-frailty (aOR: 1.95, 95% confidence interval: 1.30-2.94, P = .001) and frailty (aOR: 4.26, 95% confidence interval: 2.74-6.65, P < .001) compared with robust. Similar results were obtained when the outcome was occupational falls with injury.

Our findings suggest that frailty is associated with occupational falls among older workers in tertiary industries. We recommend that employers introduce frailty screening, and consider countermeasures based on the screening results to prevent occupational falls among older workers.