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The factors influencing the duration of disability for a compensated, occupational back injury were investigated. Workers' compensation information was obtained from the recently developed Michigan Database. The first disability episode following injury was studied for each of the 8,628 back injury cases identified. Recovery from disability was measured through the Cox proportional hazards analyses, in which increasing relative hazard values indicated decreasing disability time. The first 8 weeks of disability formed the acute stage, while the remaining weeks and months constituted the chronic stage. During the acute stage, the relative hazard for male workers was 12% higher than that for female workers, indicating that male workers returned to work sooner than females. Age had a significant inverse effect on the relative hazards calculated during both the acute and chronic stages. The relative hazard for workers aged 34 to 54 years was 25% less than that of younger workers. Over half of the injured workers on disability for 2 years were over age 34. The chance of returning to work during the acute stage decreased with increasing numbers of dependents. Workers who received the two lowest compensation rates were less likely to return to work than those who received higher rates. By the eighth week, 74.7% of the cohort returned to work. During the chronic stage, the duration of disability increased with increasing age and decreasing establishment size. Also, workers in the lowest and highest compensation rate groups returned to work sooner than those who received a moderate amount. The authors conclude that age, compensation rate, and establishment size are the most influential factors affecting the length of disability. Modifications of these factors may reduce disability time.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 30(5):540-555, 1996. (63 references)
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