Respiratory morbidity among U.S. coal miners in states outside of central Appalachia

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Am J Ind Med
• Personal Author:
  Reynolds, Laura E. ; Blackley, David J. ; Laney, Anthony S. ; Halldin, Cara N.
• Description:
  Background
  
  Recent NIOSH publications have focused on the respiratory health of coal miners in central Appalachia, yet 57% of U.S. coal miners work in other regions. We characterized respiratory morbidity in coal miners from these regions.
  
  Methods
  
  Active coal miners working outside of central Appalachia who received chest radiographs and/or spirometry during 2005–2015 were included. Chest radiographs were classified according to International Labour Office standards and spirometry was interpreted using the American Thoracic Society guidelines. Prevalence of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) and abnormal spirometry were compared by region.
  
  Results
  
  A total of 103 (2.1%) miners had CWP. The eastern region had the highest prevalence (3.4%), followed by the western (1.7%), and interior (0.8%) regions. A total of 524 (9.3%) miners had abnormal spirometry.
  
  Conclusions
  
  CWP occurs in all U.S. coal mining regions. Prevalence of CWP was higher in the eastern region, but lower than levels reported in central Appalachia.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Article Coal Mining Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Lung Function Impairment Reduced Lung Function Surveillance
• Source:
  Am J Ind Med. 60(6):513-517.
• Pubmed ID:
  28497853
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5751406
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States
• Volume:
  60
• Issue:
  6
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:1cfe31aa8c998542b41dfe7a93e2799cbbf50d99d2f224e87997318d0961c981
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/50727/cdc_50727_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 67.21 KB ]