Association of PTSD History with Confusion or Memory Loss Among World Trade Center Health Registry Enrollees

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alper H ; Brackbill R ; Millien L ; Seil K ; Yu S
• Description:
  Background: Burgeoning research suggests that people exposed to the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks in New York City (NYC) may be at greater risk for cognitive impairment due to a variety of potential exposures. We investigated whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) history was associated with self-reported confusion or memory loss (CML) among World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees. Methods: The study sample included enrollees who completed all five wave surveys (W1 in 2003-04 through W5 in 2020-21), were between the ages of 35 and 64 during W3-W5, and had no history of stroke or dementia (N = 11,432). We categorized PTSD history during W1-W3 as chronic-high, increased, decreased, or resilient-low with trajectory analysis. Generalized estimating equations modeling was used for the repeated measures analysis of the outcome, CML. Results: Compared to those in the resilient-low PTSD group, those in the decreased and increased PTSD groups were at over 52% greater risk of reporting CML; those in the chronic-high PTSD group had between a 1.62 and 1.92 times greater risk of CML than the resilient-low PTSD group, with non-rescue/recovery workers having greater risk on average. PTSD history was also associated with elevated risk of more severe CML-related outcomes in W5 - specifically, experiencing worsening symptoms and functioning in daily life. Limitations: CML symptoms are self-reported, and generalizability of results may be limited. Conclusions: These findings suggest that survivors with PTSD should be monitored for cognitive issues, including CML. Effective treatment of PTSD may have benefits beyond mitigation of PTSD symptoms. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Cohort Studies
  • Epidemiology
  • Nervous System
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  • World Trade Center
  • WTC
  • PTSD
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Cohort studies
  • Cognitive function
  • Epidemiology
  • Author Keywords: PTSD
  • Cognitive decline
  • Cohort study
  More +
• ISSN:
  2666-9153
• 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:
  14
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068607
• Citation:
  J Affect Disord Rep 2023 Dec; 14:100655
• Contact Point Address:
  Kacie Seil, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Epidemiology, 125 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013, United States
• Email:
  kseil@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207211/cdc_207211_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 459.07 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b0119e876b45c17d545f2fa572ddd6af69ede31ad469143ef13fac6da78b7ba5b012357008ae4ca401b8fad485bdd85949a12f6b651c49319431034f3af3d7ae