INDUSTRIAL-ACCIDENTS ARE RELATED TO RELATIVE BODY-WEIGHT - THE ISRAELI CORDIS STUDY

Objectives-The accident rate might be influenced by intrinsic characte ristics of the workers, by risks inherent in the work environment, or a combination of these factors. As increased weight may be associated with sleep disturbances and fatigue, a high body mass index (BMI) migh t be an independent risk factor for accidents in industrial workers. M ethods-3801 men were examined and followed up for two years for the oc currence of accidents. The objective environmental conditions were rec orded and translated into a single score of ergonomic stress level. He ight and weight were recorded, as were possible confounding factors in cluding measures of fatigue, type A personality, total night time slee p, job satisfaction, somatic complaints, smoking, and educational leve ls. Results-Both BMI and ergonomic stress levels independently predict ed involvement in accidents (two or more) with those in the highest BM I quartile who worked in an environment with high ergonomic stress lev els having a 4.6 times increased risk of accidents compared with those in the lowest BMI quartile who worked in an environment with low ergo nomic stress levels (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.4-9.0, P < 0.0 01). Although increasing somatic complaints and a low educational leve l also were predictors of accidents, they did not mediate the effect o f the BMI on the accident rate. Increasing age, less smoking, and decr eased sleep hours were significantly associated with an increased BMI, but the association of BMI and involvement in accidents also could no t be explained by those factors or the other confounders. Conclusions- BMI independently influences the accident rate. Further studies are wa rranted to confirm these findings and to explore mechanisms supporting biological plausibility.