Chronic Health Problems of Older Workers and Their Occupational Safety: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Ageing is accompanied by a general decline in physical health and a rise in chronic health problems. The increasing rate of workforce ageing and prolonged work life are likely to result in more workers working at older ages with potential diseases and disabilities. This study aims to examine the relationships between a series of chronic health problems and occupational safety risks of older workers using the meta-analysis technique. Literature search was conducted through Google Scholar. Literature published in the last 30 years (from 1989 to 2019) was collected. Eighteen journal articles were included. Sixty records were extracted from these studies. The overall effect size indicated that the odds ratio of occurrence of occupational accidents for older workers with chronic health problems is 1.455 times as high as those without any health problems included. The aggregated effect sizes of 12 categories of health problems showed that older workers with hearing impairment, visual impairment, musculoskeletal disorder, obesity, urogenital problems, chronic bronchitis/emphysema, substance abuse, or not specified health problems suffer significantly higher occupational safety risks than those without such health problems. However, the aggregated odds ratios for cancers, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and neurotic disorders showed insignificant associations of these diseases with the adverse safety outcomes of older workers. In addition, type of health problem, gender, and cutoff age moderated the focused relationships. Policies related to ageing workforce, e.g., prolonging work life, should consider chronic health problems concerning older workers protection from occupational safety risks.