Association between high ambient temperature and acute work-related injury: a case-crossover
                    analysis using workers’ compensation claims data

ObjectiveTo examine the reciprocal longitudinal associations between depression or anxiety with work-related injury (WRI) at a large employer in the southwestern United States.MethodThree administrative datasets (2011–2013) were merged: employee eligibility, medical and prescription claims, and workers’ compensation claims. The sample contained 69 066 active employees. Depression and anxiety were defined as episodes of medical visits care (ie, claims) with corresponding ICD-9-CM codes. For an individual’s consecutive claims, a new case of depression or anxiety was defined if more than 8 weeks have passed since the prior episode. The presence of a workers’ compensation injury claim was used to identify WRI. Three-wave (health plan years 2011 or T1, 2012 or T2, and 2013 or T3) autoregressive cross-lagged models were used to estimate whether depression or anxiety predicted WRI, also if WRI predicted depression or anxiety in the following year(s).ResultsDepression predicted injury from T1 to T2 (β=0.127, p<0.001) and from T2 to T3 (β=0.092, p=0.001). Injury predicted depression from T1 to T3 (β=0.418, p<0.001). Effects of anxiety on WRI were small and inconsistent, from T1 to T2 (β=0.013, p=0.622) and from T2 to T3 (β=−0.043, p=0.031). T1 injury had a protective effect on T3 anxiety (β=−0.273, p<0.001).ConclusionsWe found evidence of reciprocal effects for depression with WRI after adjustment for prior injuries and depression. The evidence for the relationship between anxiety and WRI is less clear. WRI prevention and management programmes should incorporate depression prevention and management.

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Impairment Tutorial: Rating Facial Disfigurement After an Injury

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.1998.julaug04 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 6-6

Author(s):

Marc T. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Current Work ◽

Workers Compensation ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Facial Disfigurement ◽

Work Related ◽

Work Related Injury ◽

Compensation Claim ◽

Impairment Ratings

Abstract This article discusses two important cases that involve the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides). First, in Vargas v Industrial Com’n of Arizona, a claimant had a pre-existing non–work-related injury to his right knee as well as a work-related injury, and the issue was apportionment of the pre-existing injury. The court held that, under Arizona's statute, the impairment from the pre-existing injury should be subtracted from the current work-related impairment. In the second case, Colorado courts addressed the issue of apportionment in a workers’ compensation claim in which the pre-existing injury was asymptomatic at the time of the work-related injury (Askey v Industrial Claim Appeals Office). In this case, the court held that the worker's benefits should not be reduced to account for an asymptomatic pre-existing condition that could not be rated accurately using the AMA Guides. The AMA Guides bases impairment ratings on anatomic or physiologic loss of function, and if an examinee presents with two or more sequential injuries and calculable impairments, the AMA Guides can be used to apportion between pre-existing and subsequent impairments. Courts often use the AMA Guides to decide statutorily determined benefits and are subject to interpretation by courts and administrative bodies whose interpretations may vary from state to state.

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Emergency department visits for panic attacks and ambient temperature: A time‐stratified case‐crossover analysis

Depression and Anxiety ◽

10.1002/da.23019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (11) ◽

pp. 1099-1107

Author(s):

Sehhyun Oh ◽

Tae Hyon Ha ◽

Ho Kim ◽

Hyewon Lee ◽

Woojae Myung

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Ambient Temperature ◽

Emergency Department Visits ◽

Panic Attacks ◽

Case Crossover ◽

Crossover Analysis

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Association between ambient temperature and intentional injuries: A case-crossover analysis using ambulance transport records in Japan

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145511 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 774 ◽

pp. 145511

Author(s):

Ryusei Kubo ◽

Kayo Ueda ◽

Xerxes Seposo ◽

Akiko Honda ◽

Hirohisa Takano

Keyword(s):

Ambient Temperature ◽

Intentional Injuries ◽

Case Crossover ◽

Ambulance Transport ◽

Crossover Analysis

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O2C.5 Increasing costs of occupational injuries in association with high ambient temperatures in adelaide, south australia, 2000–2014

Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.1136/oem-2019-epi.45 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. A17.2-A17

Author(s):

Jianjun Xiang ◽

Alana Hansen ◽

Dino Pisaniello ◽

Peng Bi

Keyword(s):

Older Workers ◽

South Australia ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Retail Trade ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Workers Compensation ◽

Work Related ◽

Compensation Claims ◽

The Impact ◽

Compensation Costs

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of ambient temperature on compensation costs due to work-related injuries, and to provide an evidence base about the economic benefits of developing workplace heat prevention strategies in a warming climate.MethodsWorkers’ compensation claims obtained from SafeWork South Australia for 2000–2014 were transformed into daily time series format and merged with meteorological data. The relationship between temperature and compensation costs were estimated using a generalized linear model after controlling for long-term trends, seasonality, and day of week. A piecewise linear spline function was used to account for non-linearity.ResultsA total of 4 64 139 workers’ compensation claims were reported during the 15 year period in South Australia, resulting in AU$14.9 billion dollars compensation payment. Overall, it is a reversed V-shaped temperature-cost association. A 1°C increase in maximum temperature was associated with a 1.1% (95% CI, 0.2%–2.0%) increase in daily injury compensation expenditure below 35.2°C. Specifically, significant increases of injury costs were observed in males (1.4%, 95% CI 0.3%–2.5%), young workers (3.0%, 95% CI 1.2%–4.9%), older workers≥65 years (2.4%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.4%), labourers (2.7%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.8%), machinery operators and drivers (3.5%, 95% CI 1.6%–5.3%) and the following industries: agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (12.3%, 95% CI 2.2%–23.3%); construction (7.8%, 95% CI 0.02%–16.3%); and wholesale and retail trade (2.4%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.4%). Costs for compensating occupational burns and ‘skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases’ increased by 3.1% (95% CI 1.2%–5.1%) and 2.7% (95% CI 0.1%–5.4%) respectively, with a 1°C increase in maximum temperature.ConclusionThere is a significant association between temperature and work-related injury compensation costs in Adelaide, South Australia for certain subgroups. Heat attributable workers’ compensation costs may increase with the predicted rising temperature.

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