World Trade Center Exposure, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Subjective Cognitive Concerns in a Cohort of Rescue/Recovery Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Appel D ; Hall CB ; Liu Y ; Prezant DJ ; Rabin L ; Schwartz T ; Singh A ; Webber MP ; Zeig-Owens R
• Description:
  Objective: To determine whether World Trade Center (WTC)-exposure intensity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with subjective cognitive change in rescue/recovery workers. Method: The population included 7875 rescue/recovery workers who completed a subjective cognition measure, the Cognitive Function Instrument (CFI), between 3/1/2018 and 2/28/2019 during routine monitoring, indicating whether they had experienced cognitive and functional difficulties in the past year. Higher scores indicated greater self-perceived cognitive change. Probable PTSD, depression, and alcohol abuse were evaluated by validated mental health screeners. Logistic regression assessed the associations of WTC exposure and current PTSD with top-quartile (=2) CFI score, and of early post-9/11 PTSD with top-quartile CFI in a subpopulation (N = 6440). Models included demographics, smoking, depression, and alcohol abuse as covariates. Results: Mean age at CFI completion was 56.7 +/- 7.7 (range: 36-81). Participants with high-intensity WTC exposure had an increased likelihood of top-quartile CFI score (odds ratio[OR] vs. low exposure: 1.32, 95%CI: 1.07-1.64), controlling for covariates. Current and early PTSD were both associated with top-quartile CFI (OR: 3.25, 95%CI: 2.53-4.19 and OR: 1.56, 95%CI: 1.26-1.93) respectively. Conclusions: High-intensity WTC exposure was associated with self-reported cognitive change 17 years later in rescue/recovery workers, as was PTSD. Highly WTC-exposed subgroups may benefit from additional cognitive evaluation and monitoring of cognition over time. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Nervous System Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Stress Disorders Cognitive Dysfunction Cognitive Function Mental Health Occupational Health Post-traumatic Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Psychological Stress PTSD Rescue Workers World Trade Center WTC

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• ISSN:
  0001-690X
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  275-284
• Volume:
  141
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058179
• Citation:
  Acta Psychiatr Scand 2020 Mar; 141(3):275-284
• Contact Point Address:
  Charles B. Hall, Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Block 312, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, USA
• Email:
  charles.hall@einstein.yu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Fire Department
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20140701
• Source Full Name:
  Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
• End Date:
  20170630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dce353f1ae6abbc250942c99208fd41093d8b8b179466b2a9f36c79744dd0624c0915c0c6f657af455d51dcb806ba00310914f4845d24dc8c779c467886f72c7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221316/cdc_221316_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.63 KB ]