Alcohol use and risk of work injuries among health care workers: a pilot study

Introduction: Alcohol use accounts for 11% of all workplace injuries and alcohol-related absenteeism amounts to $2 billion/year. Literature is lacking of information on potential association between occupational injuries among health care workers and alcohol use. This study aims to conduct a pilot study on alcohol induced injuries in health care workers and analyzes the use of Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin (CDT) in health surveillance programs in occupational settings. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in a large Local Health Unit in Italy. The sample consisted in 75 cases defined as workers who sustained an occupational injury. We analyzed serum ALT, AST, γ GT, MCV and CDT levels. CDT refers to a temporary alteration in the glycosylation pattern of transferrin that occurs in sustained heavy alcohol consumption (50-80 g of alcohol/day for at least 2 weeks). Results: As for the type of occupational injury, biological injuries 36% are the most common ones, followed by slipping and falls 33%, commuting accidents 15%, musculoskeletal injuries caused by manual handling 9% and verbal/physical aggressions 7%. Globally the majority of samples had low or medium CDT levels but no one was positive (cut-off value equal to 2%); no gender difference was detected. Conclusions: In the health care sector, alcohol plays a minor role in the occurrence of occupational injuries. The use of CDT in health surveillance protocols could play a role, such as a specific biomarker, as well as a deterrent for operators who may incur in important work sanctions.