THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OF MINERS FOLLOWING THE 1992 NATIONAL PIT CLOSURE PROGRAM - A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY USING GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE GHQ-12 AND SHORT-FORM SF-36

Background: In the twelve months following the announcement of the UK pit closure programme in October 1992, 22 500 miners were made redunda nt. In 1994 we undertook a cross-sectional survey to determine whether the mental and physical health of men who had been employed in the No ttinghamshire mining industry differed from that of the general popula tion. Methods: A postal questionnaire was designed incorporating the G eneral Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and six domains from SF-36. Ques tionnaires were sent to 1064 miners and ex-miners and 2097 other men i n Nottinghamshire. Non-responders were sent two reminders. Results: Th e final response rate was 51%. The percentage of responders with GHQ-1 2 scores of three or more (suggesting psychological disorder) was 46% for those still employed in the mining industry, 52% for unemployed fo rmer miners and 22% for working non-miners (odds ratios: 3.0 [95% C.I. 2.2-4.1] for current miners and 3.9 [95% C.I. 2.6-5.7] for unemployed miners compared with working non-miners). The miners and ex-miners al so had lower scores (suggesting greater morbidity) for each of the SF- 36 domains tested. When stratifying for age in respondents of social c lasses IIIM-V the scores of current miners were significantly lower th an those of working non-miners (P < 0.01). Conclusions: This study sug gests that when surveyed in 1994, men who had been employed in three N ottinghamshire collieries in 1992 were psychologically and physically disadvantaged compared with working non-miners. Whether these findings are a result of pit closures is uncertain. However, significant poten tial health needs have been demonstrated.