Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 2;20(3):2683. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032683.
Laborers are particularly vulnerable to exertional injuries and illnesses, as they often engage in heavy physical work for prolonged hours, yet no studies have examined the top causes of catastrophic exertional injuries and fatalities among this population. The purpose of the investigation was to characterize the top causes of exertional injury and fatality within open access, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reportable data. A secondary analysis of OSHA reported injury and fatality data was performed through open access records from OSHA Severe Injury Reports (2015-2022) and OSHA fatality inspection data (2017-2020), respectively. The research team characterized each reported injury and fatality as "exertion-related" or "non-exertion-related. Injury and fatality rates were reported per 100,000 equivalent full-time worker years and included 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Of 58,648 cases in the OSHA Severe Injury Report database from 2015-2020, 1682 cases (2.9%) were characterized as exertional (0.20 injuries per 100,000 full-time worker years, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.22). Heat-related injuries encompassed 91.9% of the exertional injuries ( = 1546). From the 2017-2022 OSHA fatality inspection database, 89 (1.9%) of 4598 fatalities were characterized as exertion-related (fatality rate: 0.0160 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, 95% CI: 0.009, 0.0134). The exertion-related fatalities primarily consisted of heat-related cases (87.6%). Exertion-related injuries and fatalities were most reported in Southeast states, in the construction and excavation industry, and among nonunionized workers. As heat stress continues to be recognized as an occupational health and safety hazard, this analysis further highlights the need for targeted interventions or further evaluation of the impact of heat stress on construction and excavation workers, nonunionized workers, and workers in Southeastern states.
劳动者特别容易遭受劳损性伤害和疾病，因为他们经常长时间从事繁重的体力劳动，但目前尚无研究探讨这一人群中灾难性劳损性伤害和致命伤害的主要原因。本研究旨在对开放式职业安全与健康管理局（OSHA）报告数据中劳损性伤害和致死的主要原因进行分析。本研究对 OSHA 报告的伤害和致死数据进行了二次分析，其中 OSHA 严重伤害报告（2015-2022 年）的数据进行了二次分析，OSHA 致死检查数据（2017-2020 年）的数据进行了二次分析。研究团队将每例报告的伤害和致死事件分为“与用力相关”或“与用力无关”。每 10 万等效全职工人年的伤害和致死率以及 95%置信区间（95%CI）都有报告。在 2015-2020 年 OSHA 严重伤害报告数据库中，有 58648 例病例，其中 1682 例（2.9%）被归类为与用力相关（0.20 例/10 万全职工人年，95%CI：0.19，0.22）。热相关伤害占与用力相关伤害的 91.9%（=1546）。在 2017-2022 年 OSHA 致死检查数据库中，有 89 例（1.9%）4598 例致死被归类为与用力相关（致死率：0.0160/10 万全职等效工人，95%CI：0.009，0.0134）。与用力相关的致死事件主要是热相关病例（87.6%）。与用力相关的伤害和致死在东南部各州、建筑和挖掘行业以及非工会工人中报告最多。由于热应激继续被认为是职业健康和安全危害，因此该分析进一步强调了需要针对干预措施或进一步评估热应激对建筑和挖掘工人、非工会工人以及东南部各州工人的影响。
