Mortality Disparities in Appalachia

Borak, Jonathan; Salipante-Zaidel, Catherine; Slade, Martin D.; Fields, Cheryl A.

doi:10.1097/jom.0b013e318246f395

Cited by 46 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…These 4 states account for one-third of the U.S. coal production [5]. Although most Appalachian health studies have focused on adult health [6][7][8][9], a few have examined the health of newborns [9,10]. Ahern et al [9] reported on birth defect rates with respect to mining activities, and Ahern et al [10] reported on low birth weight prevalence with respect to mining activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-for-gestational age prevalence risk factors in central Appalachian states with mountain-top mining

Ferdosi

Lamm

Afari-Dwamena

et al. 2017

Int J Occup Med Environ Health

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Objectives: To identify risk factors for small-for-gestational age (SGA) for counties in central Appalachian states (Kentucky (KY), Tennessee (TN), Virginia (VA), and West Virginia (WV)) with varied coal mining activities. Material and Methods: Live birth certificate files (1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002) were used for obtaining SGA prevalence rates for mothers based on the coal mining activities of their counties of residence, mountain-top mining (MTM) activities, underground mining activities but no mountain-top mining activity (non-MTM), or having no mining activities (non-mining). Co-variable information, including maternal tobacco use, was also obtained from the live birth certificate. Adjusted odds ratios were obtained using multivariable logistic regression comparing SGA prevalence rates for counties with coal mining activities to those

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-for-gestational age prevalence risk factors in central Appalachian states with mountain-top mining

Ferdosi

Lamm

Afari-Dwamena

et al. 2017

Int J Occup Med Environ Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Many of the population-based studies have used dichotomous measures of coal production (yes/no, does the county have coal mining sites) and have found contradictory results, with Borak et al (2012) and Buchanich et al (2014) finding limited support for coal mining counties having higher mortality rates than non-coal mining counties, counter to the Hendryx (2008) and Hendryx and Ahern (2009) studies. A key limitation of these prior studies is there use of the county-level coal mining dichotomous measure.…”

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…As has been noted by scholars (e.g., Borak et al 2012), much of the scholarship positing a link between coal mining and mortality in Appalachia has been correlational and not causal. It is not clear from prior studies if increases in coal mining production or exposure to coal mining lead to higher mortality rates.…”

Section: Gaps In the Literaturementioning

confidence: 94%

Moving mountains : a study examining long-term impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on mortality in the Appalachian region using geographic information sciences techniques.

Pugh¹

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, "Moving mountains : a study examining long-term impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on mortality in the Appalachian region using geographic information sciences techniques." (2017 Over the last hundred years, the Appalachian region has been dominated by the coal industry. It has also been and currently is one of the unhealthiest regions in the United States. Recent scholarship has examined the relationship between coal mining and health and mortality rates in the Appalachian region. The first study incorporates air quality and pollution data to examine if coal mining counties have higher levels of pollution and if this pollution contributes to mortality disadvantage. In the second study, I construct a population-based coal-exposure measure to better evaluate the relationship between coal mining and health I find that coal mining is a poor predictor of air quality and air pollution. However, there appears to be strong links between air pollution and particulate matter pollution. In the second study, I find that the coal-exposure measure for some types of mortality (all-cause, all-cancer, lung cancer, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease) is more predictive than dichotomous county-level coal mining measures, particularly in explaining cross-county differences in mortality rates. However, I find limited support for the effectiveness of coal-exposure measures when examining links between coal mining and mortality rates.vi

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Section: Coal Production Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…also noted higher lung cancer mortality in areas with heavier coal mining activity, although smoking and poverty were also contributing factors. Conversely, Borak et al (2012) used the same datasets as some of the previously mentioned studies to test the role of coal mining as an independent risk factor for mortality rates and found that, while factors such as greater poverty, lower income, and rural location were significantly associated with increased mortality, neither the presence of coal mining nor the level of coal mining were associated with significantly increased mortality .In Appalachia, Esch and Hendryx (2011) for females) were also higher for areas producing the most coal compared to non-mining areas (Hendryx, 2009). Most coal miners are men, so mortality rates were analysed separately for males and females to test the hypothesis that results were not attributable to occupational exposures, which was supported by the results (Hendryx, 2009).…”

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confidence: 98%

Environmentally-related health impacts of coal seam gas development: An impact assessment approach in Queensland, Australia

Werner¹

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Queensland, Australia has a large mining industry and has been extracting coal seam gas (CSG) on an increasingly larger scale in recent years. CSG is a type of unconventional natural gas.Historically, concerns associated with unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) have come from areas where types of UNGD other than CSG are predominant. While shale gas and CSG development are not identical, there is an underlying theme of community concern about the potential environmentally-related health impacts (ERHIs) of such development. A problem for Australia is that there is a dearth of research on ERHIs associated with CSG, in particular, in Queensland.The purpose of this research was to explore the ERHIs associated with CSG development in Queensland and suggest areas for further research. This exploratory study used three environmental settings: a CSG setting and two alternative settings (i.e., coal mining and rural/agricultural). The CSG study area served as the primary setting, as this is a fairly new industry and there is as yet no substantial body of knowledge to fully understand what the health impacts may be. Data concerning CSG gas well numbers, as well as other 'macro' environmental determinants, such as production figures, were used to assess increased environmental activity within these areas.Subjective health outcomes in residents were assessed through a self-report survey. This was to determine any differences in health and psychosocial impacts of environmental change between the respondents living in each environmental setting. In addition to the subjective health outcomes data, objective health outcomes were examined through hospital admissions data for the period 1995-2011 for all three areas. These data were compared between the three areas for differences in hospitalisation rates over time in relation to various conditions according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) chapters. Hospital admissions data were also examined in conjunction with CSG well development activity data in the CSG area to gather evidence of CSG health impact using limited available environmental data.The findings showed that the self-reported health status of respondents in the CSG area did not differ compared to the two other study areas; however, respondents did self-report higher levels of environmental distress for some measures. There were significant increases in all-age hospitalisation rates over time in the CSG area compared to the coal mining and rural areas for 'All-cause' hospitalisation rates (RR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.01 compared to the coal mining area and RR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.01-1.02 compared to the rural area). Significant increases were also ii seen for admission rates within ICD chapters related to 'Blood/immune' diseases (RR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.05-1.12 compared to the coal mining area and RR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.01-1.09 compared to the rural area) and 'Eye' diseases (RR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02-1.06 compared to the coal mining area and RR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02-1.06 compared to the rural area)....

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Mortality Disparities in Appalachia

Abstract: Coal mining is not per se an independent risk factor for increased mortality in Appalachia. Nevertheless, our results underscore the substantial economic and cultural disadvantages that adversely impact health in Appalachia, especially in the coal-mining areas of Central Appalachia.

Cited by 46 publications

References 24 publications

Small-for-gestational age prevalence risk factors in central Appalachian states with mountain-top mining

Small-for-gestational age prevalence risk factors in central Appalachian states with mountain-top mining

Moving mountains : a study examining long-term impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on mortality in the Appalachian region using geographic information sciences techniques.

Environmentally-related health impacts of coal seam gas development: An impact assessment approach in Queensland, Australia

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