Treatment status of psychiatric disorders and falls in the workplace among Japanese workers: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: In Japan, the most common injury requiring sick leave is a fall in the workplace; therefore, it is very important to prevent falls. Most measures to prevent falls involve aspects of the workplace environment and safety. However, few measures consider the perspective of individual health. We investigated the relationship between psychiatric disorders and falls in the workplace and whether treatment status for a psychiatric disorder is associated with workplace falls.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among workers aged 20 years or older in Japan from February 28 to March 3, 2022. In total, the data of 27 693 participants were analyzed. We used a questionnaire to query participants' status of treatment for any psychiatric disorder and whether they had experienced a fall in the workplace. The association between treatment for a psychiatric disorder and workplace falls was examined using logistic regression analysis.

Results: Compared with participants receiving appropriate treatment for a psychiatric disorder, the odds ratio (OR) of a workplace fall was significantly lower among participants who did not require treatment for a psychiatric disorder, at 0.56 (95% CI: 0.47-0.66; P < .001); the OR of a workplace fall was significantly higher among participants whose treatment for a psychiatric disorder was interrupted, at 1.47 (95% CI: 1.21-1.78; P < .001), after adjusting for age, sex, household income, number of workplace employees, sleeping hours, exercise habits, and psychological distress.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that receiving appropriate treatment for psychiatric disorders may contribute to preventing falls in the workplace.

Keywords: falls; psychiatric disorder; treatment; workplace.