A study published in the most recent “Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine” reveals that in cases where injured workers are also prescribed anti-depressant medications, total claim costs tend to increase and delays in return-to-work are more likely.

The study, titled “Association of Opioid, Anti-depressant, and Benzodiazepines with Workers’ Compensation Cost: A Cohort Study,” was authored by Dr. Dan Hunt, medical director at AF Group, and Ryan Artuso, senior data scientist in Predictive Modeling for AF Group, in partnership with researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Researchers analyzed the impact of benzodiazepines and antidepressants when taken with opioids on workers’ compensation claim cost and closure rates. Treating chronic pain, depression and/or anxiety along with occupational injuries tends to increase claim cost, since workers who are experiencing pain and also suffering from depression or anxiety will require more medical services than injured workers who do not have those symptoms or disorders.

For groups of patients who were not taking benzodiazepines, anti-depressants, or opioids the claim closure rate was 91.8 percent. Patients taking only an opioid saw a claim closure rate of 89.1 percent. The claim closure rate of patients taking an anti-depressant and an opioid dropped to 64.8 percent, while patients taking all three saw a claim closure rate of 58.3 percent. Antidepressant claims were more likely to still be open at the end of the three-year study period.

Read the press release from AF Group and read the study in the JOEM here.