Researchers find link between disabling work injuries, other health problems

Morgantown, WV — A permanent disability caused by a work-related injury can increase the risk of other serious health disorders and even premature death, results of recent study suggest.

A team led by researchers from West Virginia University looked at workers’ compensation claims for carpal tunnel syndrome. The team previously conducted a similar study involving low back pain. The two conditions are the most common conditions causing disabilities in people on workers’ comp, according to a WVU press release.

In both studies, the risk of early death for the workers who were disabled because of their injury was 40% higher compared with those who weren’t disabled.

“Similarly, we saw specific increases in deaths from cancer and heart disease of a comparable magnitude,” lead study author Christopher Martin, director of the WVU Occupational Medicine Residency Program and a professor of public health, said in the release. “The highest relative increases were in suicides and overdose deaths.”

The risk for premature death increased the longer the worker was disabled. Martin notes that several of his patients often didn’t leave home and became inactive. As a result, they gained weight and developed conditions such as diabetes.

“Our identity is closely linked to the jobs we do and our feelings of self-worth are closely tied to work,” Martin said. “When you transition out of that and there’s no reason to go anywhere in the morning, you don’t see a bright future. You might start to wonder what your point is on this planet.

“When physicians are making decisions about whether or not someone should be working, we need to weigh the competing risks. Even for non-health care people and policymakers, when we don’t mention the hazards of not working, we’re providing an incomplete picture.”

The study was published online in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.