RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that uranium miners in New Mexico (NM) have a greater prevalence of cardiovascular disease than miners who extracted the nonuranium ore. METHODS: NM-based current and former uranium miners were compared with nonuranium miners by using cross-sectional standardized questionnaire data from the Mining Dust in the United States (MiDUS) study from 1989 to 2016. RESULTS: Of the 7215 eligible miners, most were men (96.3%). Uranium miners (nâ=â3151, 43.7%) were older and diabetic, but less likely to currently smoke or use snuff (Pâ≤â0.001 for all). After adjustment for covariates, uranium miners were more likely to report angina (odds ratio 1.51, 95% confidence interval 1.23 to 1.85) than nonuranium miners. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that along with screening for pulmonary diseases, uranium industry workers should be screened for cardiovascular diseases.
Asunto(s)
Angina de Pecho/etiología , Minería , Enfermedades Profesionales/epidemiología , Uranio/efectos adversos , Angina de Pecho/inducido químicamente , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/epidemiología , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/etiología , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , New Mexico/epidemiología , Enfermedades Profesionales/etiología , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study examines differences in chronic health outcomes between coal, uranium, metal, and nonmetal miners. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study using data from a health screening program for current and former New Mexico miners, log-binomial logistic regression models were used to estimate relative risks of respiratory and heart disease, cancer, osteoarthritis, and back pain associated with mining in each sector as compared with coal, adjusting for other relevant risk factors. RESULTS: Differential risks in angina, pulmonary symptoms, asthma, cancer, osteoarthritis, and back pain between mining sectors were found. CONCLUSIONS: New Mexico miners experience different chronic health challenges across sectors. These results demonstrate the importance of using comparable data to understand how health risks differ across mining sectors. Further investigation among a broader geographic population of miners will help identify the health priorities and needs in each sector.