Pulmonary Fibrosis Among World Trade Center Responders: Results from the WTC Health Registry Cohort

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brackbill RM ; Cone, James E. ; Farfel MR ; Giesinger I ; Li J ; Young J
• Description:
  Dust created by the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers on 9/11 included metals and toxicants that have been linked to an increased risk of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in the literature. Little has been reported on PF among WTC responders. This report used self-reported physician diagnosis of PF with an unknown sub-type to explore the association between levels of WTC dust exposure and PF. We included 19,300 WTC responders, enrolled in the WTC Health Registry in 2003-2004, who were followed for 11 years from 2004 to 2015. Exposure was defined primarily by intensity and duration of exposure to WTC dust/debris and work on the debris pile. Stratified Cox regression was used to assess the association. We observed 73 self-reported physician-diagnosed PF cases, with a PF incidence rate of 36.7/100,000 person-years. The adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) of PF was higher in those with a medium (AHR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.1-5.8) and very high level of exposure (AHR = 4.5, 95% CI = 2.0-10.4), compared to those with low exposure. A test for exposure-response trend was statistically significant (Ptrend = 0.004). Future research on WTC dust exposure and PF would benefit from using data from multiple WTC Health Program responder cohorts for increased statistical power and clinically confirmed cases. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Emergency Responders Environmental Exposure Fibrosis Hazardous Substances Lung Diseases Men Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Women

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: World Trade Center Disaster Dust Dust Exposure Dusts Emergency Responders Exposure Levels First Responders Hazards Humans Pulmonary Fibrosis Pulmonary System Disorders Respiratory System Disorders Risk Factors Statistical Analysis Toxins World Trade Center WTC

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• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• 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:
  16
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055050
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 Mar; 16(5):825
• Contact Point Address:
  Jiehui Li, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, New York City, NY 10013
• Email:
  jli3@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fa7497747b1622a55545c8c3198e5d33760111644105d91294c3f8d0e399e6fd50dc0ba8ff83a3f1e2b7b0aa6e2955fa5b6347ed0693ccc69041272eeee00e39
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217438/cdc_217438_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 280.80 KB ]