Upper Respiratory Symptoms and Other Health Effects Among Residents Living near the World Trade Center Site After September 11, 2001

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bowers JA ; Fitzgerald EF ; Gomez MI ; Hoerning A ; Hwang S-A ; Lin S ; Reibman J
• Description:
  The authors investigated changes in respiratory health after September 11, 2001 ("9/11") among residents of the area near the World Trade Center (WTC) site in New York City as compared with residents of a control area. In 2002, self-administered questionnaires requesting information on the presence and persistence of respiratory symptoms, unplanned medical visits, and medication use were sent to 9,200 households (22.3% responded) within 1.5 km of the WTC site (affected area) and approximately 1,000 residences (23.3% responded) in Upper Manhattan, more than 9 km from the site (control area). Residents of the affected area reported higher rates of new-onset upper respiratory symptoms after 9/11 (cumulative incidence ratio = 2.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.88, 2.63). Most of these symptoms persisted 1 year after 9/11 in the affected area. Previously healthy residents of the affected area had more respiratory-related unplanned medical visits (prevalence ratio = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.64) and more new medication use (prevalence ratio = 2.89, 95% CI: 1.75, 4.76) after 9/11. Greater impacts on respiratory functional limitations were also found in the affected area. Although bias may have contributed to these increases, other analyses of WTC-related pollutants support their biologic plausibility. Further analyses are needed to examine whether these increases were related to environmental exposures and to monitor long-term health effects. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Men Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Surveys And Questionnaires Women

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Asthma Biological Effects Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Exposure Levels Health Effects Humans Medical Treatment New York City Pollutants Questionnaires Respiratory Health Respiratory System Disorders Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Factors Statistical Analysis Terrorism World Trade Center WTC

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• ISSN:
  0002-9262
• 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:
  499-507
• Volume:
  162
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050784
• Citation:
  Am J Epidemiol 2005 Sep; 162(6):499-507
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Shao Lin, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, 547 River Street, Room 200, Troy, NY 12180
• Email:
  sxl05@health.state.ny.us
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  New York State Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20041001
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20080928
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:75e1f69c76f09ac3a50d016fec98ff6392520d1920cde798cd12c4923b4de05ac7853ce83daa89581c664b49ac610689d601a5b32233ef2e8be9ae4da2bc8162
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210999/cdc_210999_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 197.66 KB ]