HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.140855v1 99/8/1423    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Breslin, F. C. Articles by Pole, J. D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Breslin, F. C. Articles by Pole, J. D. Related Collections Disability Adolescent Health Occupational Health

F. Curtis Breslin, PhD and Jason D. Pole, PhD

F. Curtis Breslin is with the Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Ontario; the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto; and Counseling Services, Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Toronto. Jason D. Pole is with the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario, Toronto, and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to F. Curtis Breslin, PhD, Institute for Work & Health, 481 University Ave, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 2E9 (e-mail: cbreslin{at}iwh.on.ca). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking on the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

Objectives. We sought to gain a better understanding of the relationship between learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and risk of occupational injury among young workers.

Methods. We assessed 15- to 24-year-old workers (n = 14 379) from cycle 2.1 of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). We gathered data on demographic characteristics, work-related factors, and presence of learning disabilities or ADHD. We conducted a multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess occurrences of medically attended work injuries.

Results. There was an 89% adjusted increase in work injury risk among workers with self-reported dyslexia (a type of learning disability) relative to workers reporting no learning disabilities, although this result did not meet traditional statistical significance criteria. Being out of school, either with or without a high school diploma, was associated with a significantly increased risk of work injury, even after control for a number of demographic and work-related variables.

Conclusions. Our findings underscore the notion that individual differences salient in the education system (e.g., learning disabilities, school dropout) need to be integrated into conceptual models of injury risk among young workers.