PERSONAL HEALTH-RISK PREDICTORS OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURY AMONG 3415 MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES

Little information exists about the effectiveness of health-promotion programs in reducing occupational injury rates. A historical cohort st udy was conducted to examine the relationship between personal health- risk factors and risk of occupational injury. Workers were grouped on the basis of nonoccupational risk-taking behaviors, psychosocial risks , cardiovascular risk factors, and a total risk-factor variable. All a nalyses were controlled for sex, smoking status, age, and job classifi cation. An increased risk of occupational injury (P < .0001) was found to be significantly associated with nonoccupational risk-taking behav ior. This association may be the result of continued risk-taking behav ior in the occupational environment, or assignment of risk-taking indi vidual to more hazardous job tasks. Psychosocial, cardiovascular, and total risk-factor variable were not associated with an increased risk of occupational injury.