The relatively large birth cohort between 1946 and 1964, combined with the economic recession in the first decade of the 21st century, have led to an increase in the proportion of older workers in the US workplace. Understanding the health and safety needs of an aging workforce will be critical, especially in the construction industry, where physical job demands are high. This paper reviews the epidemiologic literature on the impact of age on injury among workers in the construction industry in terms of cause, type, and cost. PubMed was searched by using the following terms: older workers, construction, construction industry, injury, and age. The available studies reported that, among the construction industry workforce, older age at injury was related to higher injury costs but not to number of injuries. The higher injury costs associated with worker age are likely due in part to the severity of the injuries sustained by older workers. Identification of injury trends and subsequent analytical research efforts designed to ascertain factors associated with injury among older construction workers are needed for employers to effectively manage a health and safety program that addresses the needs of the aging worker.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a major cause of work-related disability and lost-time illnesses for many occupational groups. This study determined the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among young construction workers. A symptom and job factors survey was self-administered to 996 construction apprentices. Prevalence was determined by the percent of positive responses to musculoskeletal symptom questions. Odds ratios and 95 percent confidence intervals were the measures of association between prevalent musculoskeletal symptoms and demographic, leisure, and job factors and were determined by logistic regression. The low back was the site most commonly reported for job-related musculoskeletal symptoms (4.54%), which was also the most common reason for seeking care from a physician (16.8%) and missing work (7.3%). Number of years worked in the construction trade was significantly associated with knee (p-trend = 0.0009) and wrist/hand (p-trend < 0.04) MSD symptoms and was suggestive of an association with low back pain (p-trend = 0.05). "Working in the same position for long periods" was the job factor identified as most problematic, with 49.7 percent of all construction apprentices rating it as a moderate/major problem contributing to musculoskeletal symptoms. Musculoskeletal symptoms are a significant problem among young construction workers at the beginning of their careers. Prevention strategies are needed early in the apprentice training program to reduce the potential disability associated with work-related musculoskeletal symptom disorders.