Abstract
Objective: Determine whether select cause of death mortality disparities in four Appalachian regions is associated with coal mining or other factors. Methods: We calculated direct age-adjusted mortality rates and associated 95% confidence intervals by sex and study group for each cause of death over 5-year time periods from 1960 to 2009 and compared mean demographic and socioeconomic values between study groups via two-sample t tests. Results: Compared with non-coal-mining areas, we found higher rates of poverty in West Virginia and Virginia (VA) coal counties. All-cause mortality rates for males and females were higher in coal counties across all time periods. Virginia coal counties had statistically significant excesses for many causes of death. Conclusions: We found elevated mortality and poverty rates in coal-mining compared with non-coal-mining areas of West Virginia and VA. Future research should examine these findings in more detail at the individual level.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 687-694 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of occupational and environmental medicine |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2015 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health