Maternal residency in Central Appalachian coalfields has been associated with low birth weight at the county-level. To refine the relationship between proximity and adverse birth outcomes, this study employs finer spatial scales of exposure. Spatiotemporal characterizations of surface mining boundaries in Central Appalachia between 1986-2015 were developed using Landsat data. The maternal address field on births records from VA, WV, KY, and TN were geocoded and assigned amount of surface mining within a 5km radius of residence (street-level). Births were also assigned exposures based on the amount of surface mining within residential ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) (ZIP code-level). Using linear and logistic regression, associations between surface mining activities during gestation and birth weight, preterm birth, low birth weight, and term low birth weight were determined, adjusting for available demographic factors. An increase in surface mining activities was negatively associated with birth weight at the street-level (β = −8.93g; (95% CI = -12.69 -5.7, P= <0.001) and ZIP code-level (β = −4.41g ; 95% CI = -6.30, -2.52, P= <0.001). Small, statistically significant associations were also found between preterm birth and mining within 5km of residence (OR = 1.003; 95% CI = 1.001, 1.005, P= 0.003) and within maternal ZCTA (OR = 1.002; 95% CI = 1.001, 1.003, P=0.001). Relationships were also found between amount of mining within 5km of residence and low birth weight and term low birth weight outcomes. This study found subtle, but significant associations between proximity to active surface mining during gestation and adverse birth outcomes. / M.S. / Central Appalachian surface mining produces air, water, and noise pollution, all of which have been associated with increased risk of adverse birth outcomes. Previous studies examining associations between surface mining and adverse birth outcomes rely upon relatively coarse county-level data. This research compares outcomes from hundreds of thousands of individual birth records and proximity of maternal home address to surface mines for a fine-scale, epidemiological study. Surface mining boundaries between 1986-2015 were developed using satellite imagery. Birth records from VA, WV, KY, and TN were geocoded and assigned the amount of surface mining within a 5km radius of residence. Births were also assigned exposures based on the amount of surface mining within residential ZIP code since geocoding led to a considerable loss of records. Associations between proximity to surface mining during gestation and birth weight, preterm birth (PTB), low birth weight (LBW), and term low birth weight (tLBW) were determined by linear and logistic regression, adjusting for available demographic factors. Results demonstrate significantly decreased birth weights were found near active mining operations. Mothers living near active surface mining also saw a slight increase in the odds of their birth being PTB, LBW or tLBW. These results suggest there is a subtle, but significant relationship between proximity to surface mining and adverse birth outcomes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/98651 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Buttling, Lauren G. |
| Contributors | Department of Population Health Sciences, Gohlke, Julia M., Baker, Charlotte, Kolivras, Korine N. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
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