The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) published a new study on opioid-related overdose deaths among injured workers in the state.
The study uses data from the state’s Public Health Data Warehouse (PHD) to link individuals’ workers’ comp claims from the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) with death certificates from the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS, allowing the DPH to identify individuals who were injured on the job and later died of opioid overdose.
Overall, Massachusetts’ annual rate of opioid overdose deaths increased from 9.9 per 100,000 residents in 2011 to 32.7 per 100,000 residents in 2021, more than tripling. The emergency department visit rate of suspected opioid-related overdoses increased 28% from 2019 to 2020.
There were approximately 117,417 deaths in Massachusetts among individuals of working age from 2011-2020. Among them, 4,304 had at least one workers’ compensation claim. Of these 4,304 individuals, 741 died from opioid-related overdoses – approximately 17%.
Among those 741 individuals who died of opioid-related overdoses:
- 87% were male and 13% female
- 28% worked in construction/extraction, 11% in transportation, 7% in food service, 7% in production, and 6% in building and grounds maintenance
- 55.8% were aged 25-44
- The median death age was 41
- 84.2% were white non-Hispanic, 9.6% were Hispanic, 4.2% were Black non-Hispanic
- Leading work-related injuries included strain/sprain to the back, crushing or contusion, laceration or puncture, and fracture
