Increased rates of asthma among World Trade Center disaster responders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Herbert R ; Kim H ; Landrigan, Philip J. ; Markowitz SB ; Moline JM ; Savitz DA ; Todd AC ; Udasin IG ; Wisnivesky JP
• Description:
  Background: Studies have documented high rates of asthma symptoms among responders to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster. However, whether there are increased rates of asthma among responders compared to the general population is unknown. Methods: The study population consisted of a prospective cohort of 20,834 responders participating in the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program between July 2002 and December 2007. We calculated prevalence and standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) of lifetime asthma and 12-month asthma (defined as > / = 1 attacks in the prior 12 months) among WTC responders. The comparison population consisted of > 200,000 adults who completed the National Health Interview Survey in 2000 (for pre-9/11 comparisons) and between 2002 and 2007 (for post-9/11 comparisons). Results: WTC responders were on average 43 + / - 9 years old, 86% male, 59% white, and 42% had an occupation in protective services. The lifetime prevalence of asthma in the general population was relatively constant at about 10% from 2000 to 2007. However, among WTC responders, lifetime prevalence increased from 3% in 2000, to 13% in 2002, and 19% in 2007. The age-adjusted overall SMR for lifetime asthma among WTC responders was 1.8 (95% CI: 1.8-1.9) for men and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.9-2.1) for women. Twelve-month asthma was also more frequent among WTC responders compared to the general population (SMR 2.4, 95% CI: 2.2-2.5) for men and 2.2 (95% CI: 2.0-2.5) for women. Conclusions: WTC responders are at an increased risk of asthma as measured by lifetime prevalence or active disease. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Emergency Responders Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Longevity Lung Diseases Men Morbidity Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Asthma Author Keywords: World Trade Center Responders Bronchial-asthma Emergency-responders Employee-exposure Employee-health Lifespan Lung-disorders Medical-monitoring Medical-services Morbidity-rates NHIS Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; Rhode Island
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  44-53
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040244
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2012 Jan; 55(1):44-53
• Contact Point Address:
  Juan P.Wisnivesky, MD, DrPH, Department of Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029-6574
• Email:
  juan.wisnivesky@mssm.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040601
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20100531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:47e9513f4f7deb1e7b223b072c45119ae4f1c16c33814f4e98175c9ada684454763d87405ef2a27338b48b6aba87e36a3a375e1fb4bc975ccf270616a71a6c7c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193185/cdc_193185_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 161.50 KB ]