Consultations of children living near open-cast coal mines.
Because of local concerns, general practitioner consultation rates in children living in communities close to and away from open-cast mines were compared. Information on consultations was collected on 2,442 children 1-11 years of age living in five socioeconomically matched pairs of open-cast and control communities in northern England. The data collection periods were 6 weeks each during 1996-1997 and the 52-week periods preceding these weeks. Consultations were categorized as respiratory, skin and eye conditions (possibly exacerbated by particulate matter), or other conditions. Over the 6-week periods, children in 4/5 pairs of open-cast and control communities had similar consultation rates for all conditions combined [2.7 vs. 2.4 per person-year; odds ratio (OR) = 1.1; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.96-1.3). Consultations were higher in the open-cast communities for respiratory, skin, and eye conditions (2.1 vs. 1.5 per person-year; OR = 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.7), and respiratory conditions alone (1.5 vs. 1.1 per person-year; OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-1.8). However, increases in consultation rates in open-cast communities were generally not seen over the portions of the 52-week periods when the open-cast sites were either active or inactive.
Howel
D
D
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Statistics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. d.howel@ncl.ac.uk
Pless-Mulloli
T
T
Darnell
R
R
D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008906:Mining; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy