Injury, Intense Dust Exposure, and Chronic Disease Among Survivors of the World Trade Center Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alper HE ; Brackbill RM ; Stellman SD ; Yu S
• Description:
  Background: The World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001 in New York City (9/11) exposed thousands of people to intense concentrations of hazardous materials that have resulted in reports of increased levels of asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases along with psychological illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few studies have discriminated between health consequences of immediate (short-term or acute) intense exposures versus chronic residential or workplace exposures. Methods: We used proportional hazards methods to determine adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) for associations between several components of acute exposures (e.g., injury, immersion in the dust cloud) and four chronic disease outcomes: asthma, other non-neoplastic lung diseases, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, in 8701 persons free of those conditions prior to exposure and who were physically present during or immediately after the World Trade Center attacks. Participants were followed prospectively up to 11 years post-9/11. Results: Heart disease exhibited a dose-response association with sustaining injury (1 injury type: AHR = 2.0, 95% CI (Confidence Interval) 1.1-3.6; 2 injury types: AHR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.2-7.9; 3 or more injury types: AHR = 6.8, 95% CI 2.0-22.6), while asthma and other lung diseases were both significantly associated with dust cloud exposure (AHR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.6). Diabetes was not associated with any of the predictors assessed in this study. Conclusion: In this study we demonstrated that the acute exposures of injury and dust cloud that were sustained on 9/11/2001 had significant associations with later heart and respiratory diseases. Continued monitoring of 9/11 exposed persons' health by medical providers is warranted for the foreseeable future. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Blood Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Chronic Disease Dust Emergency Responders Epidemiology Hazardous Substances Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Promotion Hematologic Diseases Lung Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks

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• Keywords:
  9/11 Acute Exposure Author Keywords: World Trade Center Blood Sugar Disorders Cardiovascular System Disease Chronic Disease Chronic Diseases Disaster Disaster Response Dose Response Dust Cloud Dust Exposure Emergency Responders Hazardous Materials Health Effects Health Programs Heart Disease Humans Injuries Injury Lung Disease Medical Monitoring Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Psychological Disorders PTSD Respiratory System Disorders Short Term Exposure World Trade Center WTC

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• ISSN:
  2197-1714
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  17
• Volume:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050255
• Citation:
  Inj Epidemiol 2017 Jul; 4:17
• Contact Point Address:
  Robert M. Brackbill, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013, USA
• Email:
  rbrackbi@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• Source Full Name:
  Injury Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d3f6cc0b4f09b6255fdd7076260e7fb6f71116612e72505392e282c305ecfb598e0902bb4f41e37cd8304bff5768174f98cd44359784341e52119dd822add0cc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210678/cdc_210678_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 520.04 KB ]