Individual characteristics in occupational accidents due to imbalance: a case-control study of the employees of a railway company

Background: Falls are frequent occupational accidents, and are responsible for a significant amount of lost working time and, more importantly, for a high mortality. The factors involved in falling mechanisms can be of external or individual origin, the latter being less well identified. Aims: To assess the relations between certain individual characteristics and occupational accidents due to imbalance. Methods: A total of 427 male employees, who had been victims of at least one occupational accident with sick leave due to imbalance (cases) and 427 controls were recruited among the employees of a large French railway company. A standardised questionnaire on life conditions and professional factors, and a description of the accidents was filled in by an occupational physician for each subject. Results: Some job categories were more affected by a specific release mechanism of work related falls. Certain individual characteristics such as smoking, alcohol consumption, inactivity, sleep disorders, and request for a job change were correlated with the occurrence of occupational accidents. Sick leaves of eight days or over were more frequent in older and overweight injured workers. Some lesions were linked with the specific fall released mechanisms. Conclusions: Individual characteristics can increase the risk of occupational accidents, especially falling. This study identified subjects most at risk on whom prevention related to working conditions and falls could be focused.

[1]  Sylvie Leclercq.  Prevention of Same Level Falls: A More Global Appreciation of This Type of Accident , 1999 .

[2]  C. Bard,et al.  Attentional demands for static and dynamic equilibrium , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[3]  T B Leamon,et al.  Occupational slips and falls: more than a trivial problem. , 1995, Ergonomics.

[4]  K Mizukoshi,et al.  Effects of alcohol ingestion on vestibular function in postural control. , 1995, Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum.

[5]  Gérome C. Gauchard,et al.  Beneficial effect of proprioceptive physical activities on balance control in elderly human subjects , 1999, Neuroscience Letters.

[6]  C W Runyan,et al.  Fatal occupational injuries in a southern state. , 1997, American journal of epidemiology.

[7]  T. Kubo,et al.  Analysis of body sway pattern after alcohol ingestion in human subjects. , 1989, Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum.

[8]  Youshouzhai Gu.  Echo , 1980, The Craft of Poetry.

[9]  Hisao Nagata,et al.  Analysis of fatal falls on the same level or on stairs/steps , 1991 .

[10]  D. P. Manning,et al.  Deaths and injuries caused by slipping, tripping and falling. , 1983, Ergonomics.

[11]  T. Ledin,et al.  Abstinent chronic alcoholics investigated by dynamic posturography, ocular smooth pursuit and visual suppression. , 1991, Acta Oto-Laryngologica.

[12]  R. Fitzpatrick,et al.  Proprioceptive, visual and vestibular thresholds for the perception of sway during standing in humans. , 1994, The Journal of physiology.

[13]  G. Gauchard,et al.  Effects of physical and sporting activities on balance control in elderly people. , 1999, British journal of sports medicine.

[14]  M. Inoue,et al.  Mental health problems after stroke , 1999, Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences.

[15]  R Nielson,et al.  Advances In Industrial Ergonomics And Safety V , 1993 .

[16]  J. Dichgans,et al.  Incidence of peripheral neuropathy and cerebellar ataxia in chronic alcoholics , 1986, Journal of Neurology.

[17]  A. Campbell,et al.  Falls, elderly women and the cold. , 1988, Gerontology.

[18]  Philippe Perrin,et al.  Training improves the adaptation to changing visual conditions in maintaining human posture control in a test of sinusoidal oscillation of the support , 1998, Neuroscience Letters.

[19]  Lennart Strandberg,et al.  The dynamics of slipping accidents , 1981 .

[20]  J. Massion.  Movement, posture and equilibrium: Interaction and coordination , 1992, Progress in Neurobiology.

[21]  M S Redfern,et al.  Postural control, attention and sleep deprivation , 1998, Neuroreport.

[22]  N. Teasdale,et al.  Increased risk for falling associated with obesity: mathematical modeling of postural control , 2001, IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

[23]  Kristina Kemmlert,et al.  Slips, trips and falls in different work groups--with reference to age and from a preventive perspective. , 2001 .

[24]  F. Gage,et al.  Quantification of hippocampal noradrenaline and zinc changes after selective cell destruction , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[25]  T. Brandt,et al.  Smoking and balance: correlation of nicotine-induced nystagmus and postural body sway , 2001, Neuroreport.

[26]  J. Fothergill,et al.  The role of environmental factors in causing injury through falls in public places. , 1995, Ergonomics.

[27]  J Rehm,et al.  Average volume of alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking, and all-cause mortality: results from the US National Alcohol Survey. , 2001, American journal of epidemiology.

[28]  [Accidents among students in professional or technological schools in Lorraine]. , 1998, Revue d'epidemiologie et de sante publique.

[29]  D. Burr,et al.  Differences in muscle endurance and recovery between fallers and nonfallers, and between young and older women. , 1997, The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences.

[30]  Thomas J. Albin,et al.  Slip-and-Fall Accidents During Equipment Maintenance in the Surface Mining Industry , 1990 .

[31]  Instability and falls in the elderly. , 1978, Age and ageing.

[32]  H. Aalto,et al.  Smoking habits and postural stability. , 1994, American journal of otolaryngology.

[33]  D. Winter,et al.  An integrated biomechanical analysis of normal stair ascent and descent. , 1988, Journal of biomechanics.

[34]  J. Agnew,et al.  Age and Fatal Work-Related Falls: SHORT NOTE , 1993, Human factors.

[35]  B E Maki,et al.  Influence of arousal and attention on the control of postural sway. , 1996, Journal of vestibular research : equilibrium & orientation.

[36]  J. H. J. Allum,et al.  Postural coactivation and adaptation in the sway stabilizing responses of normals and patients with bilateral vestibular deficit , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[37]  S. Cummings,et al.  Smoking, alcohol, and neuromuscular and physical function of older women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. , 1994, JAMA.

[38]  R E Schlegel,et al.  Coefficient of Friction and Subjective Assessment of Slippery Work Surfaces , 1992, Human factors.

[39]  M. Béné,et al.  Influence of visual control, conduction, and central integration on static and dynamic balance in healthy older adults. , 1997, Gerontology.

[40]  D. Peck,et al.  Psychological sequelae of mountain accidents: a preliminary study. , 1996, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[41]  R. B. Johnston,et al.  Effect of lower extremity muscular fatigue on motor control performance. , 1998, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[42]  M Schieppati,et al.  Fatigue effects on body balance. , 1997, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[43]  D Zohar,et al.  Why Do We Bump into Things while Walking , 1978, Human factors.

[44]  S. Cummings,et al.  Smoking, alcohol, and neuromuscular and physical function of older women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. , 1994, JAMA.

[45]  M. Polansky,et al.  The Impact of Falls in an Inner‐City Elderly African‐American Population , 1992, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.