Recorded presentation

David A. Lombardi, PhD¹, Gary S. Sorock, PhD², Simon Folkard, DSc , PhD³, Russ B. Hauser, MD, ScD⁴, Ellen A. Eisen, ScD⁴, Robert Herrick, SD⁴, and Murray A. Mittleman, MD, DrPH⁵. (1) Quantitative Analysis Unit, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, 71 Frankland Road, Hopkinton, MA 01748, (508) 435-9061 ext (210), david.lombardi@libertymutual.com, (2) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Injury Research and Policy, 624 N. Broadway, Room 545, Baltimore, MD 21205, (3) Laboratoire d’Anthropolgie Appliquée, Université René Descartes, 45 rue des Saints Pères, Paris, BC 75006, France, (4) Occupational Health Program, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, (5) Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

We evaluated the association between self-reported sleep duration on the night before an injury with usual sleep duration using data from a case-crossover study of acute traumatic occupational hand injuries. This design uses cases as their own controls to assess the change in risk of a sudden-onset event during a brief “hazard” period (e.g. night before the injury) as compared to an earlier “control” period (e.g., average sleep in past month). The duration of self-reported sleep on the night before a hand injury was compared to “usual” sleep duration when uninjured using a conditional logistic regression model.

A total of 1,166 workers that were recruited over a three year period from 23 occupational health clinics in New England completed a structured questionnaire via telephone. Compared to an average night sleep duration (6-8 hours), there was an increased risk for workers with five or less hours of sleep on the night before a hand injury (OR = 1.6 ; 95% CI = 0.9-2.8) and for workers with nine or more hours of sleep (OR = 3.5 ; 95% CI = 2.1-5.9). On average, however, injured workers reported having 7.0 hours of sleep on the night prior to their injury and as their “usual” sleep duration.

These findings suggest that deviations in sleep duration of an hour or more (representing relative losses or gains in sleep) may increase hand injury risk. Sleep duration should be considered as an additional risk factor in understanding the causes and prevention of work-related injuries.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Recognize the importance of sleep as a potential risk factor for work-related injury.
• Describe the case-crossover study design.

Keywords: Injury Risk, Occupational Safety

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation