Open AccessRespiratory impairment and symptoms as predictors of early retirement with disability in US underground coal miners.
Author(s) -
Richard Ames,
Roger B. Trent
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.74.8.837
Subject(s) - logistic regression , medicine , respiratory system , prospective cohort study , coal mining , phlegm , demography , environmental health , coal , pathology , geography , archaeology , sociology , alternative medicine , traditional chinese medicine
A five-year prospective study of 1,394 United States underground coal miners was undertaken to study the effects of respiratory impairment on the rate of early retirement with disability (ERD). Using a logistic regression analysis, ERD was found to be related to reported persistent phlegm after adjustment was made for other respiratory symptoms, respiratory function measurements, cigarette smoking, and some demographic characteristics. No prediction of ERD occurred for spirometrically determined measures of respiratory function. The data thus give limited support to the hypothesis that early retirement with disability in underground coal miners can be predicted prospectively by measures of respiratory symptoms.