WHEN THE SILENT KILLER SPEAKS LOUDLY: HYPERTENSION'S HIDDEN IMPACT ON WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS
Author(s)
Richard A. Brook, MBA, MS1, Stephen A A. Schramm, MA2, Alek A Drnach, MS2, Eric M. Rosenberg, MA2.
1President (BH-WW), Better Health Worldwide, Newfoundland, NJ, USA, 2Integrated Analytics, WorkPartners, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
1President (BH-WW), Better Health Worldwide, Newfoundland, NJ, USA, 2Integrated Analytics, WorkPartners, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
OBJECTIVES: Hypertension (HTN) affects ~1/3 of employed adults, is more common in older individuals, and is the most frequent comorbidity in US workers’ compensation (WC) claims. Employees with HTN are at greater risk of delayed recovery, and more frequent and costly WC claims. WC research often aggregates data across causes, overlooking variation in claim rates and outcomes driven by industry and employer safety culture. We aimed to quantify the impact of HTN on employer WC claim rates and highlight challenges in analyzing these claims.
METHODS: Retrospective analysis of Workpartners Research Reference Database (RRDb), including employees from large Healthcare, Power, Retail, and Manufacturing employers August-2022—July-2025. Workers with >1 year of continuous health plan and WC eligibility were grouped by age (18-49; 50-65) and assigned to HTN (>=2 prior HTN claims) or control cohorts. Controls with any of 43 chronic conditions were excluded. Outcomes included WC claim incidence, medical and indemnity costs, and lost work time.
RESULTS: A total of 55,311 employees met criteria; 23,283 (42%) were aged 50-65. Among older workers, WC lost-time claim rates were higher for those with HTN across all sectors, with significant differences in Power (18 vs. 2 per 10,000 employees; P=0.051) and Manufacturing (25 vs. 0.5; P<.005). Lost workdays were generally higher in the HTN group, with the largest difference (23 days) in Retail. In younger employees (18-49), differences between HTN and controls were not significant. Costs were typically higher in the HTN cohort except in Power. Common injuries involved shoulders, back, and arms, with sprains/strains most frequent; carpal tunnel syndrome ranked third in Power. High variability in costs and lost-time limited statistical significance.
CONCLUSIONS: Older employees with Hypertension had substantially higher (5-50×) WC lost-time claim rates than controls, highlighting the complexity of WC analysis and the need for methods accounting for industry and employer differences.
METHODS: Retrospective analysis of Workpartners Research Reference Database (RRDb), including employees from large Healthcare, Power, Retail, and Manufacturing employers August-2022—July-2025. Workers with >1 year of continuous health plan and WC eligibility were grouped by age (18-49; 50-65) and assigned to HTN (>=2 prior HTN claims) or control cohorts. Controls with any of 43 chronic conditions were excluded. Outcomes included WC claim incidence, medical and indemnity costs, and lost work time.
RESULTS: A total of 55,311 employees met criteria; 23,283 (42%) were aged 50-65. Among older workers, WC lost-time claim rates were higher for those with HTN across all sectors, with significant differences in Power (18 vs. 2 per 10,000 employees; P=0.051) and Manufacturing (25 vs. 0.5; P<.005). Lost workdays were generally higher in the HTN group, with the largest difference (23 days) in Retail. In younger employees (18-49), differences between HTN and controls were not significant. Costs were typically higher in the HTN cohort except in Power. Common injuries involved shoulders, back, and arms, with sprains/strains most frequent; carpal tunnel syndrome ranked third in Power. High variability in costs and lost-time limited statistical significance.
CONCLUSIONS: Older employees with Hypertension had substantially higher (5-50×) WC lost-time claim rates than controls, highlighting the complexity of WC analysis and the need for methods accounting for industry and employer differences.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
EPH57
Topic
Economic Evaluation, Epidemiology & Public Health, Real World Data & Information Systems
Disease
Cardiovascular Disorders (including MI, Stroke, Circulatory), No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas