Heavy drinking and the risk of occupational injury

This study evaluated the association between the frequency of heavy drinking and the risk of occupational injury, using nationally representative data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The sample consisted of 29,192 adults who were employed at some time during the year preceding the NHIS interview. Overall, 7.2% reported an on-the-job injury during the preceding year, but the rates were higher--about 13%--for those employed as skilled or unskilled laborers or who reported engaging in repeated strenuous physical activity at work. Slightly more than one-fourth of the employed adults reported at least one occasion of drinking five or more drinks during the preceding year. After adjusting for the effects of age, gender, education, occupation, and strenuous job activity, the odds of occupational injury increased with frequency of heavy drinking, with odds ratios varying from 1.08 (one occasion of heavy drinking) to 1.74 (daily heavy drinking). Odds ratios were decreased slightly by the inclusion of smoking as a control variable, indicating that some of the excess risk of injury among heavy drinkers may reflect their greater propensity to take health-related risks rather than direct effects of ethanol. The odds ratios also were slightly lower when the analysis was restricted to current drinkers, suggesting that the risk of work injury was increased by light or moderate as well as heavy drinking.