TY - JOUR
T1 - Predictors of long-term opioid use and opioid use disorder among construction workers
T2 - Analysis of claims data
AU - Dale, Ann Marie
AU - Buckner-Petty, Skye
AU - Evanoff, Bradley A.
AU - Gage, Brian F.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (Grant no.: UL1 TR000448). The authors would like to acknowledge the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Benefit Plan who provided the data for this study. Without their participation, these studies are not possible. They would also like to thank Lisa Hayibor from the Washington University in St. Louis Occupational Safety and Health Research Lab for her assistance with manuscript preparation.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (Grant no.: UL1 TR000448). The authors would like to acknowledge the St. Louis‐Kansas City Carpenters Regional Benefit Plan who provided the data for this study. Without their participation, these studies are not possible. They would also like to thank Lisa Hayibor from the Washington University in St. Louis Occupational Safety and Health Research Lab for her assistance with manuscript preparation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Background: Construction workers have high rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, which lead to frequent opioid use and opioid use disorder (OUD). This paper quantified the incidence of opioid use and OUD among construction workers with and without musculoskeletal disorders. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using union health claims from January 2015 to June 2018 from 19,909 construction workers. Claims for diagnoses of chronic musculoskeletal disorders, acute musculoskeletal injuries, musculoskeletal surgery, and other conditions were linked to new opioid prescriptions. We examined the effects of high doses (≥50 morphine mg equivalents per day), large supply (more than 7 days per fill), long-term opioid use (60 or more days supplied within a calendar quarter), and musculoskeletal disorders, on the odds of a future OUD. Results: There were high rates (42.8% per year) of chronic musculoskeletal disorders among workers, of whom 24.1% received new opioid prescriptions and 6.3% received long-term opioid prescriptions per year. Workers receiving opioids for chronic musculoskeletal disorders had the highest odds of future OUD: 4.71 (95% confidence interval 3.09–7.37); workers prescribed long-term opioids in any calendar quarter had a nearly 10-fold odds of developing an OUD. Conclusions: Among construction workers, opioids initiated for musculoskeletal pain were strongly associated with incident long-term opioid use and OUD. Musculoskeletal pain from physically demanding work is likely one driver of the opioid epidemic in occupations like construction. Prevention of work injuries and alternative pain management are needed for workers at risk for musculoskeletal injuries.
AB - Background: Construction workers have high rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, which lead to frequent opioid use and opioid use disorder (OUD). This paper quantified the incidence of opioid use and OUD among construction workers with and without musculoskeletal disorders. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using union health claims from January 2015 to June 2018 from 19,909 construction workers. Claims for diagnoses of chronic musculoskeletal disorders, acute musculoskeletal injuries, musculoskeletal surgery, and other conditions were linked to new opioid prescriptions. We examined the effects of high doses (≥50 morphine mg equivalents per day), large supply (more than 7 days per fill), long-term opioid use (60 or more days supplied within a calendar quarter), and musculoskeletal disorders, on the odds of a future OUD. Results: There were high rates (42.8% per year) of chronic musculoskeletal disorders among workers, of whom 24.1% received new opioid prescriptions and 6.3% received long-term opioid prescriptions per year. Workers receiving opioids for chronic musculoskeletal disorders had the highest odds of future OUD: 4.71 (95% confidence interval 3.09–7.37); workers prescribed long-term opioids in any calendar quarter had a nearly 10-fold odds of developing an OUD. Conclusions: Among construction workers, opioids initiated for musculoskeletal pain were strongly associated with incident long-term opioid use and OUD. Musculoskeletal pain from physically demanding work is likely one driver of the opioid epidemic in occupations like construction. Prevention of work injuries and alternative pain management are needed for workers at risk for musculoskeletal injuries.
KW - blue collar worker
KW - musculoskeletal disorders
KW - opioid prescriptions
KW - pain treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096669471&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ajim.23202
DO - 10.1002/ajim.23202
M3 - Article
C2 - 33231876
AN - SCOPUS:85096669471
SN - 0271-3586
VL - 64
SP - 48
EP - 57
JO - American Journal of Industrial Medicine
JF - American Journal of Industrial Medicine
IS - 1
ER -