Life-expectancy estimations and the determinants of survival after 15 years of follow-up for 81 249 workers with permanent occupational disabilities

Abstract

The following articles refer to this text: 2008;34(2):81-164; 2012;38(1):1-87

Estimation of life expectancies and loss-of-life expectancies for workers with permanent occupational disabilities of the extremities – a 21-year follow-up study

“…Finally, if the assumption of constant excess hazard holds, then the logit-transformed survival ratio, indicated by W(t), between the study and reference population becomes linear during the later follow-up period, and the estimated regression line can be used to extrapolate lifelong survival beyond the follow-up period (5). We have simulated (11) and mathematically proven (5) that this is a valid method for predicting the life expectancy under a high censored rate, which is also corroborated by several real examples (5,7,9).…”

“…That method was also applied in the estimation of life expectancy for workers with permanent occupational disabilities from 1986-2000 and demonstrated that the expected loss-of-life expectancy varied between 5-19 years, depending on the grade of major physiological dysfunction and injury type (8,9). However, the above results cannot be directly applied to workers with less severe, more specific impairments such as amputation of the upper and lower extremities.…”

The impact of non‐fatal workplace injuries and illnesses on mortality

“…There is some direct evidence that non‐fatal workplace injuries are associated with increased mortality. Standardized mortality studies of workers with permanent partial disabilities in Taiwan have shown substantial increases in mortality among workers with the highest workers’ compensation disability ratings as compared with those rated least severe [Ho et al, ; Lin et al, ]. These increases may have been understated because the comparison group was workers with minor permanent disability.…”

Prevention of disability at work

“…In this issue, you will find an interesting research paper by Ho et al on life expectancy among Taiwanese workers with occupational disabilities and the determinants for predicting survival (7). The aim is to provide evidence to improve equity in compensation systems in Taiwan, but the study could have values beyond this aim.…”