Lung function trajectories in World Trade Center-exposed New York City firefighters over 13 years: the roles of smoking and smoking cessation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Aldrich TK ; Christodoulou V ; Cohen HW ; Hall CB ; Kelly KJ ; Moir W ; Nolan A ; Prezant DJ ; Schwartz TM ; Vossbrinck M ; Webber MP ; Weiden MD ; Zeig Owens R
• Description:
  Background: World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) firefighters lost, on average, 10% of lung function after 9/11, and >10% developed new obstructive airways disease. There was little recovery (on average) over the first 6 years. Follow-up into the next decade allowed us to determine the longer-term exposure effects and the roles of cigarette-smoking and cessation on lung function trajectories. Methods: We examined serial measurements of FEV1 from 3/11/2000 to 9/10/2014 among 10,641 WTC-exposed FDNY firefighters with known smoking and body weight histories. Results: The median number of FEV1's during follow-up was 9; 15% arrived at the WTC during the morning of 9/11/2001; and 65% never smoked. Firefighters arriving the morning of 9/11/2001 averaged lower lung function than did lesser-exposed firefighters; this difference remained significant during most of follow-up (P<0.05). Never-smokers had significantly better lung function than current-smokers; former smokers fell in-between, depending upon their cessation date. Those arriving the morning of 9/11/2001 were more likely to have an FEV1
• Subjects:
  Body Weight Emergency Responders Firefighters Lung Occupational Health Respiratory System Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Smokers Tobacco Products

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• Keywords:
  Airway-obstruction Author Keywords: Firefighting Body-weight Cigarette-smoking Diseases Emergency-responders Exposure-levels Fire-fighters Lung-function Lung-irritants Occupational Lung Disease Pulmonary Function Test Rescue-workers Risk-factors Smoking World Trade Center

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• ISSN:
  0012-3692
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• 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:
  149
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047406
• Citation:
  Chest 2016 Jun; 149(6):1419-1427
• Contact Point Address:
  Thomas K. Aldrich, MD, Pulmonary Medicine Division, Montefiore Medical Center, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467
• Email:
  taldrich@montefiore.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Fire Department
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20110701
• Source Full Name:
  Chest
• End Date:
  20170331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0679ff7ecb74290c1d06d047f2ef6e80cd3c2b8dda82fc246330bfc6e0b4c0906c8b637cfaf928b87fb4008a9c6d1b9df7f74f7a63398446724d75895da8b0ec
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202481/cdc_202481_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 392.54 KB ]