Cancer incidence after an open cut coal mine fire.

Using population-level cancer diagnosis data, we compared cancer incidence in locations affected by smoke from a six week-long open cut coal mine fire in regional Victoria, Australia, up to seven years following the event. There was no detectable effect on cancer incidence overall. While several subgroups exhibited changes, these were more likely due to statistical chance rather than real effects.

Long-term effects of a coalmine fire on hospital and ambulance use: An interrupted time series study.

Background: In 2014, the Hazelwood coalmine fire in regional Victoria, Australia shrouded nearby communities in smoke for six weeks. Prior investigations identified substantial adverse effects, including increases in the use of health services. In this study, we examined the effects on hospital and ambulance use in the eight years following the fire.

Does diet quality moderate the long-term effects of discrete but extreme PM exposure on respiratory symptoms? A study of the Hazelwood coalmine fire.

In 2014, a fire at an open cut coalmine in regional Victoria, Australia burned for 6 weeks. Residents of the nearby town of Morwell were exposed to smoke, which included high levels of fine particulate matter (PM). We investigated whether the long-term effects of PM on respiratory health were moderated by diet quality.

Sociodemographic circumstances, health, and life experience shape posttraumatic distress trajectories among individuals exposed to smoke during a large-scale coal mine fire.

The 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire in the Latrobe Valley, Australia, distributed toxic smoke into surrounding communities over 45 days. This study investigated risk and protective factors associated with four trajectories of posttraumatic distress (resilient, recovery, delayed-onset, chronic) among exposed adults. Participants (N = 709) completed surveys in 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 assessing mine fire-related particulate matter (PM ) exposure; sociodemographic, physical, and mental health variables; and exposure to other traumatic and recent stressful events.

Long-term impact of the 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire on emergency department presentations in Australia.

Background: In 2014, wildfires ignited a coal mine in Australia, burning for 6 weeks, releasing large amounts of fine particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM). We investigated the association between individual PM exposure and emergency department presentations (EDPs) within 5 years post-fire.

Long-term impacts of coal mine fire-emitted PM2.5 on hospitalisation: a longitudinal analysis of the Hazelwood Health Study.

Background: Little is known about the long-term health impacts of exposures to landscape fire smoke. We aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to coal mine fire-related particulate matter 2.5 μm or less in diameter (PM2.

Impacts of High Concentration, Medium Duration Coal Mine Fire Related PM on Cancer Incidence: 5-Year Follow-Up of the Hazelwood Health Study.

No studies have investigated the cancer outcomes from high level medium duration coal mine fire fine particulate matter ⩽2.5 µm in diameter (PM) exposure. We included 2208 Morwell residents (exposed) and 646 Sale residents (unexposed) who participated in the Hazelwood Health Study Adult Survey.

Associations between self-reported respiratory symptoms and non-specific psychological distress following exposure to a prolonged landscape fire.

We investigated the association between respiratory symptoms and psychological distress in the context of a prolonged smoke event, and evaluated whether smoke exposure, or pre-existing respiratory and mental health conditions, influenced the association. Three thousand ninety-six residents of a rural town heavily exposed to smoke from the 6-week Hazelwood coal mine fire, and 960 residents of a nearby unexposed town, completed Kessler's psychological distress questionnaire (K10) and a modified European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Logistic regression models evaluated associations between distress and respiratory symptoms, with interactions fitted to evaluate effect modification.

Exposure to mine fire related particulate matter and mortality: A time series analysis from the Hazelwood Health Study.

Background: In 2014, the Morwell brown coal mine, located in the Latrobe Valley of South eastern Australia, caught fire covering nearby areas in plumes of smoke over a 6-week period.

Aims: To investigate the association between exposure to mine fire related air pollution and the risk of mortality.

Methods: Time series models were used to evaluate the risk of mortality during the first 30 days of the mine fire, when the smoke was most intense, and in the following six months.

The impact of the Hazelwood coal mine fire smoke exposure on asthma.

Objective: In 2014, a fire at an open cut coal mine in South-eastern Australia burned for about 6 weeks. Residents of the adjacent town were exposed to high levels of fine particulate matter (PM) during this period. Three and a half years after the event, this study aimed to investigate potential long-term impacts of short-term exposure to coal mine fire smoke on asthma.

Markers of Cardiovascular Disease among Adults Exposed to Smoke from the Hazelwood Coal Mine Fire.

Little research has examined the effects of high concentration, medium-duration smoke exposure on cardiovascular health. We investigated whether six weeks of exposure to smoke from the 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire in Victoria (Australia), was associated with long-term clinical or subclinical cardiovascular disease approximately four years later, in adult residents of the towns of Morwell (exposed, = 336) and Sale (unexposed, = 162). The primary outcome was serum high sensitivity (hs) C-reactive protein (CRP).

Associations between Respiratory Health Outcomes and Coal Mine Fire PM Smoke Exposure: A Cross-Sectional Study.

In 2014, wildfires ignited a fire in the Morwell open cut coal mine, Australia, which burned for six weeks. This study examined associations between self-reported respiratory outcomes in adults and mine fire-related PM smoke exposure. Self-reported data were collected as part of the Hazelwood Health Study Adult Survey.

Coal-mine fire-related fine particulate matter and medical-service utilization in Australia: a time-series analysis from the Hazelwood Health Study.

Background: This study assessed the association between coal-mine-fire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and medical-service utilization, following a 6-week coal-mine fire in Australia, in 2014. Areas in the immediate vicinity of the mine experienced hourly mine-fire-related PM2.

Fine particulate matter exposure and medication dispensing during and after a coal mine fire: A time series analysis from the Hazelwood Health Study.

Limited research has examined the impacts of coal mine fire smoke on human health. The aim of this study was to assess the association between prolonged smoke PM exposure from a brown coal mine fire that burned over a seven week period in 2014 and medications dispensed across five localities in South-eastern Victoria, Australia. Spatially resolved PM concentrations were retrospectively estimated using a dispersion model coupled with a chemical transport model.

Increased symptom reporting persists in 1990-1991 Gulf War veterans 20 years post deployment.

Background: Following the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Gulf War veterans (veterans) reported health symptoms more commonly than non-deployed groups. This article examines symptom persistence, incidence and prevalence 20 years on.

Methods: In 2000-2003 and 2011-2012, a 63-item symptom checklist was administered to 697 veterans and 659 comparison group.

Developing a brief depression screen and identifying associations with comorbid physical and psychological illness in Australian Gulf War veterans.

Objective: Major depression occurs frequently in veterans, and is associated with comorbid psychological and physical disorders and poorer quality of life. Depression can be difficult to detect in primary care, while lengthy assessment instruments can deter use. Our study aimed to develop a brief depression screen that could be used by veterans and caregivers, and then to compare the association between the brief screen and comorbidities and quality of life with that of a longer instrument.

Comorbidity of PTSD and depression in Korean War veterans: prevalence, predictors, and impairment.

Background: Rates of PTSD and depression are high in Korean War veterans. The prevalence and impact of the two disorders occurring comorbidly, however, has not been investigated. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which PTSD and depression co-occur in Australian veterans of the Korean War, the symptom severity characteristics of comorbidity, the impact on life satisfaction and quality, and the association with war-related predictors.

Temporal relationships between Gulf War deployment and subsequent psychological disorders in Royal Australian Navy Gulf War veterans.

Background: Although much has been published on the effects of the 1990/1991 Gulf War on the psychological health of veterans, few studies have addressed the pattern and timing of post-war development of psychological disorders. Our study aims to identify the most common psychological disorders that first appeared post-Gulf War, the period of peak prevalence and the sequence of multiple psychological disorders.

Methods: The temporal progression of psychological disorders in male Australian naval Gulf War veterans with no prior psychological disorders was calculated across each year of the post-Gulf War period.

Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in Korean War veterans 50 years after the war.

Background: There has been no comprehensive investigation of psychological health in Australia's Korean War veteran population, and few researchers are investigating the health of coalition Korean War veterans into old age.

Aims: To investigate the association between war service, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in Australia's 7525 surviving male Korean War veterans and a community comparison group.

Method: A survey was conducted using a self-report postal questionnaire which included the PTSD Checklist, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and the Combat Exposure Scale.

Reproductive health of male Australian veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

Background: Since the 1991 Gulf War concerns have been raised about the effects of deployment to the Gulf War on veterans' health. Studies of the reproductive health of Gulf War veterans have reported varied findings.

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study of male Australian Gulf War veterans (n = 1,424) and a randomly sampled military comparison group (n = 1,548).

Hazardous or harmful alcohol use in Royal Australian Navy veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: identification of high risk subgroups.

Elevated alcohol use disorders have been observed in 1991 Gulf War veterans from a variety of countries. This study used a self-report instrument, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), to ascertain whether any subgroups of 1232 male Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Gulf War veterans were at higher risk of hazardous or harmful alcohol use. Recursive partitioning/classification and regression tree (CART) analysis, followed by logistic regression, found five subgroups among the veterans, with differing risks of AUDIT caseness.