• Seong-Uk Baek, Won-Tae Lee, Min-Seok Kim, Myeong-Hun Lim, Jin-Ha Yoon, and Jong-Uk Won.
• Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2023 Sep 18; 38 (37): e284e284.

BackgroundOccupational injuries and diseases are life events that significantly impact an individuals' identity. In this study, we examined the trajectories of self-esteem among victims of occupational injury and disease and their relation to health.MethodsThe Panel Study of Workers' Compensation Insurance conducted annual follow-ups on workers who had experienced occupational injury or disease. A total of 2,000 participants, who had completed medical care, were followed from 2013 to 2017. Growth mixture modeling was utilized to identify latent classes in the self-esteem trajectory. Additionally, logistic regressions were conducted to explore the association between trajectory membership, baseline predictors, and outcomes.ResultsThree distinct trajectory classes were identified. Total 65.8% of the samples (n = 1,316) followed an increasing self-esteem trajectory, while 31.1% (n = 623) exhibited a constant trajectory, and 3.1% (n = 61) showed a decreasing trajectory. Individuals with an increasing trajectory were more likely to have a higher educational attainment (odds ratio [OR], 1.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-2.88), an absence of a moderate-to-severe disability rating (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.25-0.96), no difficulty in daily living activities (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.75-0.88), and were economically active (re-employed: OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.52-3.98; returned to original work: OR, 4.46; 9% CI, 2.65-7.50). Those with a decreasing self-esteem trajectory exhibited an increased risk of poor subjective health (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 0.85-4.85 in 2013 to OR, 3.17; 95% CI, 1.04-13.81 in 2017), whereas individuals with an increasing trajectory showed a decreased risk (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.43-0.68 in 2013 to OR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.33-0.57 in 2017).ConclusionOur findings emphasize the diversity of psychological responses to occupational injury or disease. Policymakers should implement interventions to enhance the self-esteem of victims.© 2023 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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