An examination of the effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on respiratory symptoms and COPD using propensity scores

作者：Hendryx Michael^*; Luo Juhua

来源：International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2015, 25(3): 265-276.

DOI：10.1080/09603123.2014.938027

• Appalachia
• propensity score
• coal mining
• COPD
• respiratory health

Previous research on public health consequences of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining has been limited by the observational nature of the data. The current study used propensity scores, a method designed to overcome this limitation, to draw more confident causal inferences about mining effects on respiratory health using non-experimental data. These data come from a health survey of 682 adults residing in two rural areas of Virginia, USA characterized by the presence or absence of MTR mining. Persons with a history of occupational exposure as coal miners were excluded. Nine covariates including age, sex, current and former smoking, overweight, obesity, high school education, college education, and exposure to coal as a home-heating source were selected to estimate propensity scores. Propensity scores were tested for balance and then used as weights to create quasi-experimental exposed and unexposed groups. Results indicated that persons in the mountaintop mining group had significantly (p < 0.0001) elevated prevalence of respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The results suggest that impaired respiratory health results from exposure to MTR environments and not from other risks.

• 出版日期2015-5-4