Background: In the twelve months following the announcement of the UK pit closure programme in October 1992, 22,500 miners were made redundant. In 1994 we undertook a cross-sectional survey to determine whether the mental and physical health of men who had been employed in the Nottinghamshire mining industry differed from that of the general population.

Methods: A postal questionnaire was designed incorporating the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and six domains from SF-36. Questionnaires were sent to 1064 miners and ex-miners and 2097 other men in Nottinghamshire. Non-responders were sent two reminders.

Results: The final response rate was 51%. The percentage of responders with GHQ-12 scores of three or more (suggesting psychological disorder) was 46% for those still employed in the mining industry, 52% for unemployed former miners and 22% for working non-miners (odds ratios: 3.0 [95% C.I. 2.2-4.1] for current miners and 3.9 [95% C.I. 2.6-5.7] for unemployed miners compared with working non-miners). The miners and ex-miners also had lower scores (suggesting greater morbidity) for each of the SF-36 domains tested. When stratifying for age in respondents of social classes IIIM-V the scores of current miners were significantly lower than those of working non-miners (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: This study suggests that when surveyed in 1994, men who had been employed in three Nottinghamshire collieries in 1992 were psychologically and physically disadvantaged compared with working non-miners. Whether these findings are a result of pit closures is uncertain. However, significant potential health needs have been demonstrated.