School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia.
Children's Health and Environment Program, Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 21;19(3):1206. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031206.
The populations in the vicinity of surface coal mining activities have a higher risk of morbidity due to diseases, such as cardiovascular, respiratory and hypertensive diseases, as well as cancer and diabetes mellitus. Despite the large and historical volume of coal production in Queensland, the main Australian coal mining state, there is little research on the association of coal mining exposures with morbidity in non-occupational populations in this region. This study explored the association of coal production (Gross Raw Output-GRO) with hospitalisations due to six disease groups in Queensland using a Bayesian spatial hierarchical analysis and considering the spatial distribution of the Local Government Areas (LGAs). There is a positive association of GRO with hospitalisations due to circulatory diseases (1.022, 99% CI: 1.002-1.043) and respiratory diseases (1.031, 95% CI: 1.001-1.062) for the whole of Queensland. A higher risk of circulatory, respiratory and chronic lower respiratory diseases is found in LGAs in northwest and central Queensland; and a higher risk of hypertensive diseases, diabetes mellitus and lung cancer is found in LGAs in north, west, and north and southeast Queensland, respectively. These findings can be used to support public health strategies to protect communities at risk. Further research is needed to identify the causal links between coal mining and morbidity in non-occupational populations in Queensland.
受采煤活动影响地区的居民罹患心血管疾病、呼吸道疾病和高血压、癌症和糖尿病等疾病的风险更高。尽管昆士兰州是澳大利亚主要的产煤州，煤炭产量巨大且历史悠久，但针对该地区非职业人群中与采煤暴露相关的发病情况，相关研究却很少。本研究采用贝叶斯空间分层分析方法，结合地方政府区域（LGA）的空间分布，探索了昆士兰州煤炭产量（总原矿产量-GRO）与六种疾病组住院治疗之间的关系。研究结果表明，GRO 与昆士兰州循环系统疾病（1.022，99%置信区间：1.002-1.043）和呼吸系统疾病（1.031，95%置信区间：1.001-1.062）的住院治疗呈正相关。昆士兰州西北部和中部的 LGA 循环系统、呼吸道和慢性下呼吸道疾病的风险更高；而北部、西部、西北部和东南部的 LGA 高血压、糖尿病和肺癌的风险更高。这些发现可用于支持保护高危社区的公共卫生策略。还需要进一步研究以确定昆士兰州非职业人群中与采煤相关的发病情况的因果关系。
