OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of workplace injury on opioid dependence, abuse and overdose (opioid-related morbidity) and if severity of injury increases the hazard of these health effects.
METHODS: We used MarketScan databases to follow injured and propensity score matched non-injured workers, both without prior opioid-related diagnoses. Using a Cox proportional hazard model, we examined the impact of workplace injury on opioid-related morbidity.
RESULTS: The hazard of opioid-related morbidity for injured workers was 1.79 times than that of matched non-injured workers (95% CI 1.89 to 3.60). For medical-only and lost-time injured workers, it was respectively 1.54 (95% CI 1.02 to 2.32) and 2.91 (95% CI 1.75 to 4.84) times that of non-injured workers.
CONCLUSIONS: Reducing workplace injury or severity of workplace injury, as well as efforts to ensure appropriate opioid prescribing for injured workers, may help to reduce the societal costs of opioid use.