O3D.3 Medication as proxy of work-related health problems

IntroductionIn order to investigate the impact of work on health, we hypothesize that medication consumption registered in medical files of workers could serve as a proxy for work-related health problems. In this study, we describe variations in prevalence of specific medication groups between sectors, adjusting for age and gender. In addition, we investigated whether a change in job/sector can have an impact on medication use.MethodLogistic regression analysis is being performed to investigate the effect of occupational sector on the prevalence of specific medication groups, adjusted for year, age and gender. For this, an occupational surveillance dataset of 6 86 434 workers collected between 2011 and 2017 was used. Additionally, regarding the impact on job changes on medication use, analyses are currently being performed by comparing prevalence of specific medication groups in 2011 with 2017 for those employees who changed job during this time period.Results and discussionIn 2011 30,6% male and 49,8% female workers used medication. These figures roze to 43,1% and 67,3% respectively in 2017. The use of medication increased with age: in 2017 38,2% for workers=55 year. Big differences were observed between sectors. Medication use was highest in health care (67,1% in 2017), government and education. These differences remained after adjustment for age and gender. 9,8% and 9,1% of the workers were treated for respectively pain and neuropsychological disorders in 2017.ConclusionSignificant differences in workers’ medical consumption were observed between sectors. This information is now being used for the implementation of a sector-oriented health surveillance program.