Workplace discrimination and risk of alcohol abuse: a prospective cohort study in the United States

The risk of alcohol abuse was increased 2.6-fold in those reporting high workplace discrimination as compared to those with low levels (RR=2.60, 95% CI=1.10-6.15). Stress explained this association only marginally (i.e., RRs for high workplace discriminination were attenuated by 14.47%). Associations did not differ between women and men (i.e., p-values for all interaction terms were > 0.05) CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that workplace discrimination is an important risk factor for alcohol abuse among US workers, highlighting the need for organizational interventions to address discrimination at the workplace.