Introduction

Alcohol consumption is one of the main risk factors associated with mortality and loss of quality of life. In workplace, it is associated with higher absenteeism, decreased performance and greater number of work accidents. In Portugal, approximately 25% of work-related accidents are due to alcohol consumption. They are also influenced by other individual, relational, community and societal factors.

Objectives

This study aims to identify alcohol consumption patterns and characteristics of individuals who have reported occupational injuries in Portugal, in 2016 and 2017.

Methodology

This is an observational cross-sectional epidemiological study of secondary data from the IV National Survey on the Use of Psychoactive Substances in the General Population 2016/2017 (n = 12023). The association of characteristics of individuals consuming alcoholic beverages with the occurrence of occupational accidents was studied through two multiple logistic regression models.

Results

In the Portuguese population, prevalence of last year alcohol consumption is 58.3%, of which 6.2% refer to hazardous, harmful or dependent consumption. Hazardous consumption (OR 1,824) and dependency on alcoholic beverages (OR 3,981), as well as consumption of 10 or more drinks per occasion (OR 3,963) and binge drinking, is associated with the occurrence of occupational accidents.

Conclusions

The present study validates the association between the consumption of alcoholic beverages and the occurrence of occupational accidents in the Portuguese population of working age. This analysis includes the most recent data and was never performed for the Portuguese population, outside specific working sites. The existence of scientific evidence of national scope may contribute to better identification of alcohol consumption profiles in the workplace, adequate characterization of work accidents and more effective interventions.

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