OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND MEDICATION USE

Recent medication use of 3,394 members of the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHC) diagnosed with an incident work-related injury w as compared to that of two controls selected from the GHC membership a nd matched on age, gender, and Standard Industrial Classification Code of their employer Medication use was determined from the GHC pharmacy data base. The injuries of the cases included 496 fractures or disloc ations, 2,728 open wounds, crushing injuries, or superficial injuries, 176 bums, and 64 internal or intracraninal injuries. The risk of inju ry was elevated among users of antihistamines [odds ratio (OR) = 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1-1.9], antibiotics (OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.0-1.5), and diabetes medications (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.9-1.9). Th e patterns of risk were similar for males and females, but varied by t ype of injury. No consistent associations between use of antidepressan ts, antianxiety medication, or narcotics and work-related injury were observed. The use of some medications, or conditions requiring medicat ions, may contribute to the risk of a work-related injury. (C) 1996 Wi ley-Liss, Inc.