PTSD Symptoms, Depressive Symptoms, and Subjective Cognitive Concerns in WTC-Exposed and Non-WTC-Exposed Firefighters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hall CB ; Mueller AK ; Prezant DJ ; Singh A ; Webber MP ; Zeig-Owens R
• Description:
  Background: Firefighting has been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions. We previously found that among Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) responders to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster, higher-intensity WTC-exposure predicted PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and subjective cognitive concerns. The present study aims to compare these symptoms in the FDNY WTC-exposed cohort versus a comparison cohort of non-FDNY, non-WTC-exposed firefighters. Methods: The study population included WTC-exposed male firefighters from FDNY (N = 8466) and non-WTC-exposed male firefighters from Chicago (N = 1195), Philadelphia (N = 770), and San Francisco (N = 650) fire departments who were employed on 9/11/2001 and completed a health questionnaire between 3/1/2018 and 12/31/2020. Current PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and subjective cognitive concerns were assessed via validated screening instruments. Multivariable linear regression analyses stratified by fire department estimated the impact of covariates on each outcome. Results: Adjusted mean PTSD symptom scores ranged from 23.5 +/- 0.6 in Chicago firefighters to 25.8 +/- 0.2 in FDNY, and adjusted mean depressive symptom scores ranged from 7.3 +/- 0.5 in Chicago to 9.4 +/- 0.6 in Philadelphia. WTC-exposure was associated with fewer subjective cognitive concerns (β = -0.69 +/- 0.05, p < .001) after controlling for covariates. Across cohorts, older age was associated with more cognitive concerns, but fewer PTSD and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: WTC-exposed firefighters had fewer cognitive concerns compared with non-WTC-exposed firefighters. We were unable to estimate associations between WTC exposure and PTSD symptoms or depressive symptoms due to variability between non-WTC-exposed cohorts. Longitudinal follow-up is needed to assess PTSD, depressive, and cognitive symptom trajectories in firefighter populations as they age. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cohort Studies Firefighters Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cognitive Decline Cognitive Function Cohort Studies Depression Exposure Assessment Fire Fighters Firefighters Mental Health Post-traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD Traumatic Incident Stress World Trade Center WTC

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract ; 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:
  64
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063316
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2021 Oct; 64(10):803-814
• Contact Point Address:
  Rachel Zeig-Owens, DrPH, Fire Department of the City of New York Headquarters, 9 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
• Email:
  Rachel.Zeig-Owens@fdny.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Fire Department
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20110701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20170331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:28f601458aa8a3d320897a81f61ce87cde81a1a9d7dbe7aff57e366260b92548fd9337f8ff2d4c8e6675b0c95167dd6a232791a0360a3863498278666ad7e788
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226397/cdc_226397_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 812.61 KB ]