Long-term posttraumatic stress symptoms among 3,271 civilian survivors of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brackbill RM ; DiGrande L ; Galea S ; Neria Y ; Pulliam P ; Brackbill RM ; DiGrande L ; Galea S ; Neria Y ; Pulliam P
• Description:
  Although the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were the largest human-made disaster in US history, there is little extant research documenting the attacks' consequences among those most directly affected, that is, persons who were in the World Trade Center towers. Data from a cross-sectional survey conducted 2-3 years after the attacks ascertained the prevalence of long-term, disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 3,271 civilians who evacuated World Trade Center towers 1 and 2. Overall, 95.6% of survivors reported at least 1 current posttraumatic stress symptom. The authors estimated the probable rate of PTSD at 15.0% by using the PTSD Checklist. Women and minorities were at an increased risk of PTSD. A strong inverse relation with annual income was observed. Five characteristics of direct exposure to the terrorist attacks independently predicted PTSD: being on a high floor in the towers, initiating evacuation late, being caught in the dust cloud that resulted from the tower collapses, personally witnessing horror, and sustaining an injury. Working for an employer that sustained fatalities also increased risk. Each addition of an experience of direct exposure resulted in a 2-fold increase in the risk of PTSD (odds ratio = 2.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.84, 2.36). Identification of these risk factors may be useful when screening survivors of large-scale terrorist events for long-term psychological sequelae. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Environmental Exposure Epidemiology Hazardous Substances Men Mental Health Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires Women

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• Keywords:
  Age-groups Author Keywords: Disasters Environmental-exposure Exposure-levels Health-hazards Humans Life Change Events Models Post-traumatic Psychological-effects Psychological-stress Psychology Questionnaires Risk-factors September 11 Terrorist Attacks Stress Stress Disorders Terrorism

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• ISSN:
  0002-9262
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; Georgia ; Illinois ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  271-281
• Volume:
  173
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046617
• Citation:
  Am J Epidemiol 2011 Feb; 173(3):271-281
• Contact Point Address:
  Heather S. Lipkind, MD, MS, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
• Email:
  hslipkind@yahoo.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Services
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030430
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20090429
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a2250e7e49b9f407ec438f6b78c5c1372f4a4872380303f606f53cf746a2cecfd3ca401efc4580c8b41f108b6e87910d4784ab5436511be1e4a8403560365635
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201619/cdc_201619_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 154.99 KB ]