Longitudinal association between near-misses/minor injuries and moderate/severe injuries in industrial settings by presence/absence of depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of workers in Japan

• Published in: Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) Vol. 77; no. 12; pp. 832 - 838
• Main Authors: Yamauchi, Takashi, Takahashi, Kunihiko, Suka, Machi, Sasaki, Takeshi, Takahashi, Masaya, Yoshikawa, Toru, Okoshi, Hiroto, Umezaki, Shigeo, Yanagisawa, Hiroyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 01.12.2020
• Subjects: Accidental Injuries - epidemiology; Adult; Dependent variables; Depression - epidemiology; Female; Health care; Humans; Injuries; Injury analysis; Injury prevention; Japan - epidemiology; Likert scale; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Occupational Injuries - epidemiology; Occupational stress; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Shift work; Sick leave; Stress; Stress response; Traffic accidents & safety; Workers; Working hours; Young Adult; Japan; epidemiology; injury; health and safety; longitudinal studies
• ISSN: 1351-0711; 1470-7926
• DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2020-106460

ObjectivesThe association between near-misses/minor injuries and moderate/severe injuries has yet to be investigated longitudinally. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal association between near-misses/minor injuries and moderate/severe injuries by the presence/absence of depressive symptoms using 1-year follow-up data obtained from a nationally representative sample of workers in Japan.MethodsOf the 18 231 eligible participants at time 1 (T1), 12 127 who responded to the 1-year follow-up survey at time 2 (T2) (response rate: 66.5%; 4370 females and 7757 males; mean age (SD), 45.3 (10.5) years) were included in the analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed with the presence/absence of moderate/severe injuries at T2 as the dependent variable.ResultsIn total, 36.4% of participants reported depressive symptoms at T1. During the follow-up period, 1.6% of participants reported moderate/severe injuries in industrial settings. After adjusting for relevant variables, participants who reported near-misses (OR=1.7 (95% CI, 1.3 to 2.4)) and minor injuries (OR=2.5 (95% CI, 1.3 to 4.7)) at T1 were more likely to have moderate/severe injuries at T2 compared to those who reported no near-misses/minor injuries. However, this association was stronger in participants who did not have depressive symptoms at T1 than in those who had depressive symptoms.ConclusionsWhile the predictive value of near-misses/minor injuries for the occurrence of moderate/severe injuries by the presence/absence of depressive symptoms should be cautiously interpreted, our findings suggest that the development and utilisation of near-miss/minor injury reporting systems may help reduce the likelihood of moderate/severe injuries among workers, especially those without depressive symptoms.