Citation

Asfaw A, Souza K. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2012; 54(9): 1086-1091.

Affiliation

From the Office of the Director (Dr Asfaw), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC; and Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies (Dr Souza), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/JOM.0b013e3182636e29

PMID

22929794

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:: We examined if injured workers were more likely than noninjured workers to be treated for depression after an occupational injury and estimated the cost paid by group medical insurance. METHOD:: Nearly 367,900 injured and noninjured workers were drawn from the 2005 Thomson Reuters MarketScan data. Descriptive, logistic, and two-part model regression analyses were used. RESULTS:: The odds of injured workers being treated for depression within the study period were 45% higher than those of noninjured workers (95% confidence interval, 1.17-1.78). The unconditional average cost of outpatient depression treatment was 63% higher for injured workers than for noninjured workers. CONCLUSIONS:: Injured workers were more likely than noninjured workers to suffer from depression during the study period. Consequently, additional costs are incurred for treating injured workers' depression; these costs were not covered by the workers' compensation system.

Language: en