The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence rates of depressive, anxiety and PTSDs, and the risk factors for psychological symptoms at 6 years after occupational injury. This longitudinal study followed workers who were occupationally injured in 2009. Psychological symptoms and return to work were assessed at 3 and 12 months after injury. Injured workers who had completed the initial questionnaire survey at 3 or 12 months after injury were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to the participants. For workers with high Brief Symptom Rating Scale and Post-traumatic Symptom Checklist scores, an in-depth psychiatric evaluation was performed using the Mini-international Neuropsychiatric Interview. A total of 570 workers completed the questionnaire (response rate, 28.7%). Among them, 243 (42.6%) had high psychological symptom scores and were invited for a phone interview; 135 (55.6%) completed the interview. The estimated rates of major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)/partial PTSD were 9.2 and 7.2%, respectively, and both these rates were higher at 6 years after injury than at 12 months after injury (2.0 and 5.1%). After adjustment for family and social factors, the risk factors for high psychological scores were length of hospitalization immediately after injury, affected physical appearance, repeated occupational injuries, unemployment, and number of quit jobs after the injury. At 6 years after occupational injury, the re-emergence of psychiatric disorders was observed. Relevant factors for poor psychological health were severity of injury and instability of work. Periodic monitoring of psychological and physical health and economic stability are warranted.

These results showed that occupational injury can cause long-term psychological impact in workers. Key demographic and injury characteristics may enhance the identification of at-risk occupational injured workers who would benefit from targeted screening and early intervention efforts.

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Kuan-Han LIN, et al.: Psychological Outcome after Occupational Injury among workers who suffered from intracranial injury, fracture, burn, crushing injury, and open wound of upper limbs were 10.4, 6.9, 5.9, 5.8 and 0%, respectively. Conclusions: At three months after occupational injuries, a significant proportion of workers suffered from psychiatric disorders. The rates of psychiatric disorders occurring after intracranial injuries were significantly higher than those occurring after non-intracranial injuries. ( . According to the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in Taiwan in 2004, occupational accidents were the 2nd most important cause of death among workers 2) . Occupational injury is defined as death, any personal injury or disease resulting from an occupational accident 3) . According to the Bureau of Labor Insurance, there are three types of medical benefits for occupational injury, including inpatient benefits, outpatient benefits, and medical examination benefits. In 2008, of the workers who received medical benefits for occupational injury, more than 14,000 workers received inpatient benefits due to occupational injuries 4) . Traumatic events or natural disasters are known to induce psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, anxiety, etc. [5][6][7] . PTSD is the most commonly studied and probably the most frequent psychological disorder that

At 6 years after occupational injury, workers' HRQOL was poor among those whose salaries decreased after the injury, after adjustment for other factors.