Aging and occupational accidents a review of the literature of the last three decades

This paper deals with age-related accident risks (largely in industrial settings), and offers a synthesis of the scientific literature of the last three decades. It is concerned with large-scale and intra-occupational studies that have investigated age-related accident frequency severity or characteristics. It is maintained that the findings so far shed little light on the expected direction and magnitude of the relation between aging and occupational accidents. A framework is outlined for the purpose of identifying jobs in which aging has either a preventive or an aggravating effect on accident occurrence. This framework is proposed tentatively as a means for understanding the confusing findings of the literature review. It is concluded that the safety problems of older workers may well be restricted to activities that are specifically "age-impaired". Age-related accident problems can also be specific in terms of injury type. Finally, it is emphasized that further research would benefit greatly from longitudinal designs, proper exposure measurements, intra-occupational investigations, consideration of the positive effect of relevant experience on occupational safety, and greater precision with regard to the type of accident in focus. © 1995.