Occupational health challenges in mining: a study on spinal cord injuries and their impact on miners

Mining remains a high-risk industry, with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) among its most serious outcomes. These irreversible injuries, caused by heavy machinery accidents, falls and rockfalls, profoundly affect miners' quality of life (QoL) and work capacity. This study compared the QoL and general health of miners with non-surgical SCIs sustained at least 2 years earlier with those of miners without SCIs.

Two hundred miners with SCIs and 200 controls completed the 'Quality of Life and General Health' section of the international spinal cord injury questionnaire (InSCI-Q). The data were analyzed via normality tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Bonferroni-adjusted univariate analyses.

The SCI group reported significantly lower scores across nearly all dimensions (all p < 0.001). The strongest effects were for QoL (η² = 0.765) and health satisfaction (η² = 0.470), with moderate effects for living conditions (η² = 0.077) and personal relationships (η² = 0.063). Health comparisons over 1 year were not significant (p = 0.921).

SCIs severely reduce miners' well-being, leading to chronically impaired but stable health. Addressing this burden requires not only rehabilitation and safety measures but also reintegration strategies and stronger occupational health policies.