• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Depression, suicidal thoughts plague ailing coal miners, study finds

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
July 8, 2021
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: UVA Health

More than a third of coal miners and former coal miners suffering from black lung disease struggle with depression, and more than one in 10 has recently considered suicide, a new study finds.

The study is believed to be the first to examine mental-health issues in a large population of coal miners in the United States. Based on the troubling results, the researchers are calling for more mental health resources and treatment for current and former miners. They also are urging further study of potential contributors to the problem, including social determinants of health, substance use and workplace safety.

“Although coal mining is on the decline, the rates of black lung in Southwest Virginia continue to increase. Coal miners in Central Appalachia face disparities in health related to a range of complex social, economic, occupational and behavioral factors,” said researcher Drew Harris, MD, a pulmonary medicine expert at UVA Health. “This study highlights the unrecognized crisis of mental illness in miners that warrants urgent attention, resources and expanded care.”

Miners’ Mental Health

Harris serves as the medical director of the Black Lung Clinic at Southwest Virginia’s Stone Mountain Health Services, the only federally funded black lung clinic in Virginia. Black lung is a progressive lung illness caused by inhaling toxic coal and rock dust within coal mines. The dust literally blackens the insides of the lungs and leaves patients struggling to breathe. This devastating disease has few treatment options and is increasingly being diagnosed in Central Appalachian coal miners: Out of more than 1,400 coal miners X-rayed in the last year at Stone Mountain, more than 15% had progressive massive fibrosis, the most severe form of black lung.

To gauge the mental wellbeing of black-lung patients, Harris and his colleagues reviewed data collected at the clinic since 2018 assessing patients for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

More than 2,800 miners voluntarily completed a mental-health survey. The average age was 66; 99.6% were white; and 99.7% were male.

Of the participants:

  • 883 patients, or 37.4%, reported symptoms consistent with major depressive disorder.
  • 1,005 patients, or 38.9% had clinically significant anxiety.
  • 639 patients, or 26.2%, had symptoms of PTSD.
  • 295 patients, or 11.4%, had considered suicide in the last year. (For comparison, this figure is only 2.9% among Virginia men overall.)

“These rates of mental illness far exceeded those documented in coal mining populations internationally,” the researchers write in a new scientific paper outlining their findings.

Rates skewed highest among sicker patients who required supplemental oxygen to help them breathe. Among that group, 47.7% reported anxiety; 48.5% reported depression; and 15.9% reported considering suicide.

The researchers note that depression and other mental-health issues not only affect patients’ quality of life but can reduce the likelihood they will stick with their medications.

“The rates of mental illness identified in this large population of U.S. coal miners is shocking,” Harris said. “Improved screening and treatment of mental illness in this population is an urgent, unmet need that warrants urgent action.”

###

Findings Published

The researchers have published their findings in JAMA Network Open. The research team consisted of Harris, Timothy McMurry, Amanda Caughron, Jody Willis, Justin C. Blackburn, Chad Brizendine and Margaret Tomann, McMurry disclosed that he serves as a statistical consultant for the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety.

To keep up with the latest medical research news from UVA, subscribe to the Making of Medicine blog at http://makingofmedicine.virginia.edu.

Media Contact
Josh Barney
[email protected]

Original Source

https://newsroom.uvahealth.com/2021/07/06/depression-suicidal-thoughts-plague-ailing-coal-miners/

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11110

Tags: Business/EconomicsChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesDepression/AngerEarth ScienceEnergy SourcesEnergy/Fuel (non-petroleum)Medicine/HealthMental Health
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Age Impacts Brain’s Spatial Geometry, Study Finds

September 30, 2025

Tumor Histology: Lineage Plasticity as a Spectrum

September 30, 2025

circMAN1A2-CENPB Interaction Drives Cancer Cell Growth

September 30, 2025

Emerging Review Highlights Rising Heavy Metal Risks in Reservoirs, Advocates for Advanced Monitoring and Eco-Friendly Remediation Strategies

September 30, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    87 shares
    Share 35 Tweet 22
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    73 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    59 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Scientists Discover and Synthesize Active Compound in Magic Mushrooms Again

    56 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Age Impacts Brain’s Spatial Geometry, Study Finds

Ultrafast Polaron Formation in NaTaO3 Reveals Instant Stabilization of Positive Charges in Key Solar Fuel Catalyst

Tumor Histology: Lineage Plasticity as a Spectrum

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.