Asthma diagnosed after 11 September 2001 among rescue and recovery workers: findings from the World Trade Center Health Registry

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brackbill R ; Cone, James E. ; Farfel M ; Kass D ; McKelvey W ; Perrin M ; Thomas P ; Thorp L ; Wheeler K
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Studies have consistently documented declines in respiratory health after 11 September 2001 (9/11) among surviving first responders and other World Trade Center (WTC) rescue, recovery, and clean-up workers. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to describe the risk of newly diagnosed asthma among WTC site workers and volunteers and to characterize its association with WTC site exposures. METHODS: We analyzed 2003-2004 interview data from the World Trade Center Health Registry for workers who did not have asthma before 9/11 (n = 25,748), estimating the risk of newly diagnosed asthma and its associations with WTC work history, including mask or respirator use. RESULTS: Newly diagnosed asthma was reported by 926 workers (3.6%). Earlier arrival and longer duration of work were significant risk factors, with independent dose responses (p < 0.001), as were exposure to the dust cloud and pile work. Among workers who arrived on 11 September, longer delays in the initial use of masks or respirators were associated with increased risk of asthma; adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.63 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-2.56) for 1 day of delay to 3.44 (95% CI, 1.43-8.25) for 16-40 weeks delay. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of self-reported newly diagnosed asthma was high in the study population and significantly associated with increased exposure to the WTC disaster site. Although we could not distinguish appropriate respiratory protection from inappropriate, we observed a moderate protective effect of mask or respirator use. The findings underscore the need for adequate and timely distribution of appropriate protective equipment and the enforcement of its use when other methods of controlling respiratory exposures are not feasible. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dust Emergency Responders Lung Men Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Women Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Asthma Bronchial-asthma Disaster Dust-exposure Dust-particles Dusts Emergency-responders Exposure-levels Humans Masks Particulate-dust Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Rescue-workers Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Work-environment Workers World Trade Center

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• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  115
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046561
• Citation:
  Environ Health Perspect 2007 Nov; 115(11):1584-1590
• Contact Point Address:
  M. Farfel, The World Trade Center Health Registry, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth St., Rm. 201, Mailbox CN 6, New York, NY 10013
• Email:
  mfarfel@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030430
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• End Date:
  20090429
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a8d9bf4ad103c7ff833874636cfdbc8ff3965ab0182d2e2d875a59a1c0c0e1c63f61ce77a23018cf891e52104b53b402200ed97479bb0b3e829aa73d77c36546
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201575/cdc_201575_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 158.34 KB ]