Nutrition Related Health Status Of Individuals Affected By Coal And Tobacco Economies And Policies In Virginia

To assess the effects of mining on community well‐being a comparative study assessed the nutritional health of individuals in Virginia targeting regions typically characterized by more health disparities than other regions of Virginia. The Preventive Medicine Research Center at Via College of Osteopathic Medicine‐Virginia Campus (VCOM) conducted the study with physicians and medical residents in OMNEE (Osteopathic Medical Network of Excellence in Education). Selected for study were counties where mountaintop mining is currently a primary source of employment; as well as counties considered non‐coal‐mining, historically coal‐mining, and tobacco producing. Groups were comparable in subject number and matched by socioeconomic status, i.e., poverty, education, unemployment, race/ethnicity, etc. Data collected through local health department and medical records were analyzed on individuals as was secondary data from state and national data sources. Primary outcome measures were reported for chronic diseases, i.e., heart, cancer, kidney, stroke, asthma, lung, obesity, diabetes, thyroid, hypertension, and birth defects.Funding: Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science, Directed by the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA