Population Health Management Office, Duke University Health System, Durham, North Carolina, USA
College of Allied Health Professions, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Occup Environ Med. 2023 Mar;80(3):154-159. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2022-108587. Epub 2023 Jan 30.
Older workers experience higher rates of fatal occupational injury than younger workers worldwide. In North Carolina, the population of older workers more than doubled between 2000 and 2017. In 2008, the Great Recession changed occupational patterns among all age groups. We examined annual rates and distribution of fatal occupational injuries experienced by older workers, comparing the pre-recession period (2000-2007) to the post-recession period (2009-2017).
Detailed information on all fatal occupational injuries during the period between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2017 were abstracted from the records of the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the office of vital records. The decennial Census and American Community Survey were used to estimate the population at risk and derive annual rates of fatal occupational injury.
During the study period, 537 occupational fatalities occurred among workers 55+ years of age. The rate of fatal occupational injury among older workers declined 2.8% per year, with a 7.7% yearly decline in the pre-recession period compared with a 1.4% increase per year in the post-recession period. Workers 65+ years of age experienced rate increases in both periods. The highest rates of unintentional fatal occupational injury (injuries that were not purposefully inflicted) were observed in forestry, fishing hunting and trapping, and wood building manufacturing. Intentional fatal occupational injury rates (homicide, suicide) were highest in transportation, gas/service stations and grocery/food stores.
Older workers have persistently high rates of fatal occupational injury in North Carolina before and after the Great Recession.
在全球范围内，老年工人的致命职业伤害率高于年轻工人。在北卡罗来纳州，2000 年至 2017 年期间，老年工人的人口数量增加了一倍多。2008 年，大衰退改变了所有年龄段的职业模式。我们研究了老年工人经历的致命职业伤害的年发生率和分布情况，将衰退前时期（2000-2007 年）与衰退后时期（2009-2017 年）进行了比较。
从北卡罗来纳州首席法医办公室和人口记录办公室的记录中提取了 2000 年 1 月 1 日至 2017 年 12 月 31 日期间所有致命职业伤害的详细信息。十年一次的人口普查和美国社区调查被用来估计风险人口，并得出致命职业伤害的年发生率。
在研究期间，537 名 55 岁以上的工人发生了职业性死亡。老年工人的致命职业伤害率每年下降 2.8%，衰退前时期每年下降 7.7%，而衰退后时期每年增长 1.4%。65 岁以上的工人在两个时期都经历了发生率的增加。森林、渔业、狩猎和诱捕以及木材建筑制造行业的非故意致命职业伤害（非故意造成的伤害）发生率最高。交通运输、气/加油站和杂货店/食品店的故意伤害（故意杀人、自杀）的致命职业伤害率最高。
在大衰退前后，北卡罗来纳州的老年工人一直面临着较高的致命职业伤害率。
