Prevalence of occupational accidents and associated variables in the Brazilian workforce

INTRODUCTION: Current estimates suggest that 317 million occupational accidents occur annually worldwide. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of occupational accidents and associated variables in the Brazilian workforce. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed using data from adults aged 18 or older who participated in the National Health Survey (Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde) (2013). This study was based on participants’ responses to questions regarding their history of occupational accidents in the previous 12 months. Socioeconomic, lifestyle and health-related variables were also examined. Prevalence rates and ratios were calculated using Poisson multivariate regression models (with 95% confidence intervals), followed by Wald’s tests for robust variance estimation. RESULTS: The prevalence of occupational accidents was 2.79% (95% confidence interval, 2.53-3.08%). These incidents were associated with male gender (prevalence ratio = 1.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-1.77), living in rural areas (prevalence ratio = 1.27; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.62), age 18 to 24 (prevalence ratio = 2.02; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-3.40), illiteracy (prevalence ratio = 3.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.96-4.96) and having two or more chronic illnesses (prevalence ratio = 2.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-3.47). CONCLUSIONS: Though the prevalence of occupational accidents in the Brazilian workforce was low, these incidents were associated with multimorbidity, socioeconomic status and lifestyle variables.