Examination of child and adolescent hospital admission rates in Queensland, Australia, 1995-2011: a comparison of coal seam gas, coal mining and rural areas

Werner, Angela K., Watt, Kerrianne, Cameron, Cate, Vink, Sue, Page, Andrew, and Jagals, Paul (2018) Examination of child and adolescent hospital admission rates in Queensland, Australia, 1995-2011: a comparison of coal seam gas, coal mining and rural areas. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22 (9). pp. 2511-2514.

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Abstract

Objectives: At present, coal seam gas (CSG) is the most common form of unconventional natural gas development occurring in Australia. Few studies have been conducted to explore the potential health impacts of CSG development on children and adolescents. This analysis presents age-specific hospitalisation rates for a child and adolescent cohort in three study areas in Queensland.

Methods: Three geographic areas were selected: a CSG area, a coal mining area, and a rural area with no mining activity. Changes in area-specific hospital admissions were investigated over the period 1995–2011 in a series of negative binomial regression analyses for 19 International Classification of Diseases (ICD) chapters, adjusting for sociodemographic factors.

Results: The strongest associations were found for respiratory diseases in 0–4 year olds (7% increase [95% CI 4%, 11%] and 6% increase [95% CI 2%, 10%] in the CSG area relative to the coal mining and rural areas, respectively) and 10–14 year olds (9% increase [95% CI 1%, 18%] and 11% increase [95% CI 1%, 21%] in the CSG area compared to the coal mining and rural areas, respectively). The largest effect size was for blood/immune diseases in 5–9 year olds in the CSG area (467% increase [95% CI 139%, 1244%]) compared to the rural area with no mining activity.

Conclusions for Practice: Higher rates of hospitalisation existed in the CSG area for certain ICD chapters and paediatric age groups, suggesting potential age-specific health impacts. This study provides insights on associations that should be explored further in terms of child and adolescent health.

Item ID: 53694
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1573-6628
Copyright Information: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creat ivecommons .org/licen ses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Date Deposited: 14 Aug 2018 02:16
FoR Codes: 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4202 Epidemiology > 420203 Environmental epidemiology @ 50%
35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3505 Human resources and industrial relations > 350505 Occupational and workplace health and safety @ 50%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920405 Environmental Health @ 100%
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