The Effects of Substance Use on Workplace Injuries

Author
Sample
Analysis
Measure of Substance Use
Measure of Injury
Findings
Shipp et al. (2005) 3,365 high-school students 
in Texas, 1995
Observational, 
cross-sectional
Self-report: Alcohol and drug 
use (past-30-day use of alcohol, 
marijuana; lifetime use of 
cocaine, inhalant, and steroids)
Self-report: Injury 
while working for 
pay, during lifetime
For all substances, risk of injury increased 
with increasing rates of current and lifetime 
use. 
Stallones and 
Xiang (2003)
872 Colorado farm residents 
at baseline (1993): 746 at 
year 2 follow-up, 643 at 
year 3 
Observational, 
longitudinal
Self-report: Alcohol use 
(quantity and frequency, past 
week and past month)
Self-report: Work 
injury in past year
Farmers who drank more frequently had 
higher injury-incidence rates (3.09 for 
moderate drinkers and 3.35 for heavy 
drinkers per 10,000 days vs. 1.94 for 
abstainers). As days of drinking increased, 
so did the odds of reporting a work injury 
(OR = 1.44–1.45).
Veazie and Smith 
(2000)
8,569 24- to 32-yr-olds in 
1989 NLSY
Observational, 
prospective, 
cross-sectional
Self-report: Alcohol use 
(quantity and frequency 
of current drinking, heavy 
drinking, and alcohol 
dependence) 
Self report: Injury, 
excluding strains and 
sprains, in past 6 mos. 
No cross-sectional link was found between 
work-related accidents and drinking. 
Prospectively, a positive and significant 
association was attenuated when other 
risk factors (e.g., job risk, managerial 
responsibilities, education) were included 
in multivariate models. 
Wells and 
Macdonald (1999)
10,385 Canadians aged 15 
and older
Observational, 
cross-sectional
Self-report: Alcohol use 
(quantity and frequency in the 
past week and past year, past-
year heavy drinking) 
Self-report: At least 
one accident in 
the past year while 
working at a job 
Heavy weekly drinking was linked with 
self-report of having at least one accident 
in the past year while working; increased 
drinking was linked with having at least 
one accident while working for young 
adults (15–24) but not for older age groups. 
NOTE: NHIS = National Health Interview Survey. NHSDA = National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. DSM-III-R = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental 
Disorders: DSM-III-R (APA, 1987). NLSY = National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. OR = odds ratio.
a 
CAGE is an abbreviation for a four-question inquiry to help professionals assess an individual’s level of alcohol use: whether the person has ever felt the need to 
cut down on his or her drinking, whether people have annoyed the person by criticizing his or her drinking, whether the person has ever felt guilty about his or her 
drinking, and whether the person has ever felt the need for an eye-opener, or early-morning drink, to steady his or her nerves or to soothe a hangover.