TY - JOUR
T1 - An observational study of pain severity, cannabis use, and benefit expenditures in work disability
AU - Mustard, Cameron A.
AU - Orchard, Christa
AU - Dobson, Kathleen G.
AU - Carnide, Nancy
AU - Smith, Peter M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by Ontario Workplace Safety & Insurance Board through the following grants: 1) LONG2018: Ontario Injured Workers Outcome Study; and 2) MUST2021: Health and labour market outcomes among lost-time claimants in the shadow cast by the COVID-19 emergency. The Institute for Work & Health receives support from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. The funders had no role in the conduct of this study, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the article for publication. All inferences, opinions, and conclusions drawn in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Province of Ontario.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Objective: This study pools two cohorts of workers in Ontario interviewed 18 months following a disabling work-related injury to estimate the association between pain severity, cannabis use, and disability benefit expenditures. Methods: Among 1650 workers, disability benefit expenditures obtained from administrative records were combined with self-reported measures of pain symptoms and cannabis use. Disability benefit expenditures comprised wage replacement benefits and expenditures on healthcare services. Results: Past-year cannabis use was reported by 31% of participants, with approximately one third of cannabis use attributed to the treatment of conditions arising from the work-related injury. Condition-related cannabis use was elevated among the 34% of participants reporting severe pain symptoms. In regression models adjusted for age, sex, nature of injury, opioid prescription, and pre-injury chronic conditions, participants reporting condition-related cannabis use had equivalent wage replacement benefit expenditures (β = 0.254, ns) and higher healthcare benefit expenditures (β = 0.433, p = 0.012) compared to participants who did not use cannabis. Participants reporting cannabis use unrelated to conditions arising from their work-related injury had lower wage replacement benefit expenditures (β = − 0.309, p = 0.002) and equivalent healthcare benefit expenditures (β = − 0.251, ns) compared to participants not using cannabis. Conclusion: This novel study of workers’ compensation claimants interviewed at 18 months post-injury did not observe a substantial relationship between cannabis use and disability benefit expenditures, suggesting that neither harm nor significant benefit is associated with cannabis use. These findings contribute to understanding the potential benefits and risks associated with cannabis use in settings that have legalized cannabis use.
AB - Objective: This study pools two cohorts of workers in Ontario interviewed 18 months following a disabling work-related injury to estimate the association between pain severity, cannabis use, and disability benefit expenditures. Methods: Among 1650 workers, disability benefit expenditures obtained from administrative records were combined with self-reported measures of pain symptoms and cannabis use. Disability benefit expenditures comprised wage replacement benefits and expenditures on healthcare services. Results: Past-year cannabis use was reported by 31% of participants, with approximately one third of cannabis use attributed to the treatment of conditions arising from the work-related injury. Condition-related cannabis use was elevated among the 34% of participants reporting severe pain symptoms. In regression models adjusted for age, sex, nature of injury, opioid prescription, and pre-injury chronic conditions, participants reporting condition-related cannabis use had equivalent wage replacement benefit expenditures (β = 0.254, ns) and higher healthcare benefit expenditures (β = 0.433, p = 0.012) compared to participants who did not use cannabis. Participants reporting cannabis use unrelated to conditions arising from their work-related injury had lower wage replacement benefit expenditures (β = − 0.309, p = 0.002) and equivalent healthcare benefit expenditures (β = − 0.251, ns) compared to participants not using cannabis. Conclusion: This novel study of workers’ compensation claimants interviewed at 18 months post-injury did not observe a substantial relationship between cannabis use and disability benefit expenditures, suggesting that neither harm nor significant benefit is associated with cannabis use. These findings contribute to understanding the potential benefits and risks associated with cannabis use in settings that have legalized cannabis use.
KW - Cannabis
KW - Disability insurance
KW - Occupational health
KW - Pain severity
KW - Public health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174270553&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.17269/s41997-023-00821-1
DO - 10.17269/s41997-023-00821-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 37843785
AN - SCOPUS:85174270553
SN - 0008-4263
VL - 115
SP - 157
EP - 167
JO - Canadian Journal of Public Health
JF - Canadian Journal of Public Health
IS - 1
ER -