Coal Country Blues: Mental Health Legacy Revealed
A new study has found that people living in areas where coal mining used to take place are more likely to experience mental health problems than those living elsewhere. Researchers looked at data from over 180,000 people in Wales and found a strong link between the amount of coal mining that took place in an area and how well people's mental health was. The study also showed that this effect is particularly strong for women who grew up during the decline of the mining industry, suggesting that the legacy of deindustrialisation can have lasting impacts on mental health.