title: Self-reported cancer rates in two rural areas of West Virginia with and without mountaintop coal mining.
abstract: Mountaintop coal mining in the Appalachian region in the United States causes significant environmental damage to air and water. Serious health disparities exist for people who live in coal mining portions of Appalachia, but little previous research has examined disparities specifically in mountaintop mining communities. A community-based participatory research study was designed and implemented to collect information on cancer rates in a rural mountaintop mining area compared to a rural non-mining area of West Virginia. A door-door health interview collected data from 773 adults. Self-reported cancer rates were significantly higher in the mining versus the non-mining area after control for respondent age, sex, smoking, occupational history, and family cancer history (odds ratio = 2.03, 95% confidence interval = 1.32-3.13). Mountaintop mining is linked to increased community cancer risk. Efforts to reduce cancer and other health disparities in Appalachia must focus on mountaintop mining portions of the region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 9190, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA. mhendryx@hsc.wvu.edu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hendryx
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wolfe
authors.forename: Juhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Webb
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003032:Coal Mining / Q000379:methods; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report; D014903:West Virginia / Q000453:epidemiology