Surface mining and low birth weight in central appalachia

Small, Dylan S.; Firth, D. W.; Keele, Luke; Huber, Matthew; Passarella, Molly; Lorch, Scott A.; Burris, Heather H.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.110340

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…That the positive association between canopy and opioid mortality results mostly from rural counties is not entirely surprising, since rural counties, especially those in Appalachia, have lower quality healthcare infrastructure, services, and access than do more urbanized and developed counties (Anderson et al, 2015) and worse health-related behavior (Matthews et al, 2017). Rural areas in Appalachia have also relied heavily on ecological degradation of forested lands for economic livelihoods through coal mining, forestry, and other forms of resource extraction (Small et al, 2021;Wishart, 2014). Such employment opportunities have declined during the opioid crisis, yet these dangerous and labor-intensive jobs instigated the high demand for painkillers, while the declining economic conditions encouraged their ongoing use and abuse (Krometis et al, 2017; Monnat et al, 2019).…”

Section: Interpretation Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is green space associated with opioid-related mortality? An ecological study at the U.S. county level

Becker

Browning

McAnirlin

et al. 2022

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

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Section: Interpretation Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is green space associated with opioid-related mortality? An ecological study at the U.S. county level

Becker

Browning

McAnirlin

et al. 2022

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

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“…While preregistration may be more useful and important for hypothesis-driven confirmatory research than for purely descriptive or exploratory research, in some of the latter cases, one could still preregister the research questions and statistical estimands of interest ( 69 ). Published papers and protocols provide examples of preregistrations in a number of subfields, including psychiatric epidemiology ( 72 ), genetic epidemiology ( 19 ), environmental epidemiology ( 73 ), social epidemiology ( 74 ), and pharmacoepidemiology ( 75 , 76 ). These diverse examples illustrate how preregistration can be successfully adapted to suit a wide variety of epidemiologic study designs and analytical methods.…”

Section: Open-science Practices For Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Open and Reproducible Epidemiology

Mathur

Fox

2023

American Journal of Epidemiology

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Starting in the 2010s, researchers in the experimental social sciences rapidly began to adopt increasingly open and reproducible scientific practices. These practices include publicly sharing deidentified data when possible, sharing analysis code, and preregistering study protocols. Empirical evidence from the social sciences suggests such practices are feasible, can improve analytic reproducibility, and can reduce selective reporting. In academic epidemiology, adoption of open-science practices has been slower than in the social sciences (with some notable exceptions, such as registering clinical trials). Epidemiologic studies are often large, complex, conceived after data have already been collected, and difficult to directly replicate by collecting new data. These characteristics makes it especially important to ensure their integrity and analytic reproducibility. Open-science practices can also pay immediate dividends to researchers’ own work by clarifying scientific reasoning and encouraging well-documented, organized workflows. We consider how established epidemiologists and early-career researchers alike can help midwife a culture of open science in epidemiology through their research practices, mentorship, and editorial activities.

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“…The odds of a birth with congenital heart defects were associated with exposure to oil and gas well activities during early pregnancy in a study of Colorado counties [ 12 ], and an increase in the prevalence of neural tube defects was observed among children born to a mother living in areas with natural gas extraction activity [ 13 ]. Small et al found evidence that surface mining was associated with low birth weight in the 2012–2017 period, but not prior to 2000 [ 14 ]. This may indicate that there is a lag between debris removal and water contamination, leading to the delayed onset of negative birth outcomes [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Small et al found evidence that surface mining was associated with low birth weight in the 2012–2017 period, but not prior to 2000 [ 14 ]. This may indicate that there is a lag between debris removal and water contamination, leading to the delayed onset of negative birth outcomes [ 14 ]. Additionally, a recently published study found that the intensity of active surface mining near maternal residence during pregnancy was associated with preterm birth and low birth weight [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Laboratory and environmental studies of MTR suggest that exposure can occur through contaminated water and air [ 14 , 16 ]. In a study evaluating air particulate matter at varying distances from surface mining (both traditional and MTR), Kurth et al reported higher proportions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), silica, and crustal elements like Gallium, Aluminum, Germanium, Rubidium, Lanthanum, and Cerium, in some cases by a factor of 10 or more, compared to control sites that were not located near either surface or underground mining areas [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maternal proximity to mountain-top removal mining and birth defects in Appalachian Kentucky, 1997–2003

2022

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Extraction of coal through mountaintop removal mining (MTR) alters many dimensions of the landscape. Explosive blasts, exposed rock, and coal washing have the potential to pollute air and water. Previous research suggests that infants born to mothers living in areas with MTR have a higher prevalence of birth defects. In this cross-sectional study, we further examine the relationship between MTR activity and several types of birth defects. Maternal exposure to MTR was assessed using remote sensing data from Skytruth, which captures MTR activity in the Central Appalachian region of the United States. Active MTR area was quantified within a five-kilometer buffer surrounding geocoded maternal address captured on birth records for live births to Appalachian Kentucky mothers between 1997 and 2003 (N = 95,581). We assigned high, medium, and low exposure based on the tertile of total MTR area within 5-km, and births with no MTR within this buffer were assigned zero exposure. The presence or absence of a birth defect grouped into six major organ systems was identified using birth records alone. Finally, we applied conditional multiple imputation for variables with missing values before conducting separate multivariable log-binomial regression models for each birth defect group. Prevalence ratio (PR) estimates were adjusted for individual level covariates from birth records. The prevalence of gastro-intestinal defects was significantly higher in birth records with high and low active MTR exposure compared to records with no exposure. (High exposure: PR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.14–3.47; low exposure PR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.06–3.31). This study supports some of the existing findings of previous ecological studies. Research addressing the relationship between gastro-intestinal birth defects and MTR coal mining is warranted but should carefully consider temporal dimensions of exposure.

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Surface mining and low birth weight in central appalachia

Cited by 7 publications

References 44 publications

Is green space associated with opioid-related mortality? An ecological study at the U.S. county level

Is green space associated with opioid-related mortality? An ecological study at the U.S. county level

Toward Open and Reproducible Epidemiology

Maternal proximity to mountain-top removal mining and birth defects in Appalachian Kentucky, 1997–2003

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