Early Predictors of Occupational Back Re-Injury: Results from a Prospective Study of Workers in Washington State

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Spine (Phila Pa 1976)
• Personal Author:
  Keeney, Benjamin J. ; Turner, Judith A. ; Fulton-Kehoe, Deborah ; Wickizer, Thomas M. ; Chan, Kwun Chuen Gary ; Franklin, Gary M.
• Description:
  Study Design
  
  Prospective population-based cohort study
  
  Objective
  
  To identify early predictors of self-reported occupational back re-injury within 1 year after work-related back injury
  
  Summary of Background Data
  
  Back injuries are the costliest and most prevalent disabling occupational injuries in the United States. A substantial proportion of workers with back injuries have re-injuries after returning to work, yet there are few studies of risk factors for occupational back re-injuries.
  
  Methods
  
  We aimed to identify the incidence and early (in the claim) predictors of self-reported back re-injury by approximately 1 year after the index injury among Washington State workers with new work disability claims for back injuries. The Washington Workers’ Compensation Disability Risk Identification Study Cohort (D-RISC) provided a large, population-based sample with information on variables in seven domains: sociodemographic, employment-related, pain and function, clinical status, health care, health behavior, and psychological. We conducted telephone interviews with workers 3 weeks and 1 year after submission of a time-loss claim for the injury. We first identified predictors (p-values < 0.10) of self-reported re-injury within 1 year in bivariate analyses. Those variables were then included in a multivariate logistic regression model predicting occupational back re-injury.
  
  Results
  
  290 (25.8%) of 1,123 (70.0% response rate) workers who completed the one-year follow-up interview and had returned to work reported having re-injured their back at work. Baseline variables significantly associated with re-injury (p-value < 0.05) in the multivariate model included male gender, constant whole body vibration at work, a history of previous similar injury, 4 or more previous claims of any type, possessing health insurance, and high fear-avoidance scores. Baseline obesity was associated with reduced odds of re-injury. No other employment-related or psychological variables were significant.
  
  Conclusion
  
  One-fourth of workers who received work disability compensation for a back injury self-reported re-injury after returning to work. Baseline variables in multiple domains predicted occupational back re-injury. Increased knowledge of early risk factors for re-injury may help lead to interventions, such as efforts to reduce fear-avoidance and graded activity to promote recovery, effective in lowering the risk of re-injury.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adult Article Back Injuries Back Pain Disability Evaluation Female Humans Injured Workers Male Middle Aged Occupational Injuries Predictors Prospective Studies Prospective Study Re-injuries Recurrence Return To Work Risk Factors Self Report Washington Workers' Compensation Workers’ Compensation Young Adult

  More +
• Source:
  Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 38(2):178-187
• Pubmed ID:
  22772568
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4258105
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R01 OH004069/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States ; T32 AR049710/AR/NIAMS NIH HHS/United States
• Volume:
  38
• Issue:
  2
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:9ae9628a41a7ffab8bef2d5e8e1956079f69ab8dc0fad03934143a811956f68f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/42003/cdc_42003_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 751.53 KB ]