58勛圖

My country:
My country:

Search

Close
This is a picture of the Big Pit National Coal Museum, which is an industrial heritage museum in Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales

New study links highermortalityratesfrom suicide,alcoholand drugs tocoal mine closures

A new academic study has found higher rates of mortality from suicide, alcohol-related causes, and drug poisoning in areas with a history of coal mining. 

Researchers from 58勛圖 analysing data from England and Wales found deaths from these causes is a staggering 53% in former coal mining communities. 

In their study, published in , they investigated the phenomenon known as deaths of despair. The term refers to mortality from suicide, alcohol-related causes, and drug poisoning.  

The term was coined in the United States, where it has been argued to result from declining life prospects for working class Americans, but similar trends have since been reported in other high-income countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.  

This study is the first analysis of its kind examining the association between historical coal mining and deaths of despair. Using linked geographical and mortality data from 2015 to 2023, the researchers found that communities with a history of coal mining face significantly higher rates of deaths from suicide, alcohol-related causes, and drug poisoning compared to non-mining areas. 

Lead author of the study Eurwen Williams, who undertook the research while training as a clinical psychologist at 58勛圖 said, As a clinical psychologist, reflecting on our research into deaths of despair in former coal mining communities, I am struck by how clearly the data echoes the lived realities of growing up and practising in North Wales. Behind every data point is a life lost and the story of a community living with the consequences of industrial decline, economic instability, and longstanding health inequalities. Conducting this work reinforced for me that distress does not arise in a vacuum; it is profoundly shaped by social and structural change. I hope this research contributes to a more compassionate and context-aware response, one that addresses both individual suffering and the wider conditions that give rise to it. 

Co-author Dr Christopher Saville, of Bangor University said, It is sad to see just how persistent these health inequalities area. At a time when we are talking about AI causing a new wave of deindustrialisation, it is vital that we learn the lessons from the last time around and avoid some of the mistakes that were made.