Intensity of Binge Drinking a Decade After the September 11th Terror Attacks Among Exposed Individuals

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brackbill RM ; McAteer JM ; Welch AE ; Zweig KC
• Description:
  Introduction: The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center resulted in elevated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use among exposed individuals. The relationship among traumatic exposure, PTSD, and excessive drinking is well documented; however, little is known about these relationships in the long term. This study examines factors increasing binge drinking risk among exposed individuals a decade post-9/11. Methods: In 2015-2016, data were analyzed from 28,592 World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees aged >18 years who completed the Wave 3 (2011-2012) survey. Women comprised 38.9% of participants. Binge drinking in the last 30 days was categorized as low (men, five to seven drinks; women, four to six drinks) or high intensity (men, eight or more drinks; women, seven or more drinks). Probable 9/11-related PTSD was defined as scoring >/=44 on the PTSD Checklist. Exposures to 9/11 (e.g., witnessing horror, sustaining an injury) were categorized as none/low (zero to two) or high (three or more). Results: Binge drinking was reported by 24.7% of participants, of whom 36.9% reported high-intensity binge drinking. Compared with non-binge drinkers, the odds of low- and high-intensity binge drinking were greater among enrollees who were male, aged 18-34 years, non-Hispanic white, had income >$75,000, were rescue/recovery workers, had high 9/11 exposure, or 9/11-related PTSD. Conclusions: The observed associations among traumatic exposure, PTSD, and excessive drinking underscore the need for improved therapies addressing excessive drinking and PTSD concurrently, inclusion of repeated post-event screening for excessive drinking, and evidence-based population-level interventions to reduce alcohol consumption. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Alcoholic Beverages Environmental Exposure Men Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Women
• Keywords:
  Alcohol; Alcoholic beverages; WTC; World Trade Center; Terrorism; Exposure levels; Risk factors; PTSD; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Humans; Men; Women; Traumatic incident stress; Statistical analysis
• ISSN:
  0749-3797
• 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:
  192-198
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050901
• Citation:
  Am J Prev Med 2017 Feb; 52(2):192-198
• Contact Point Address:
  Alice E. Welch, DrPH, MPH, RPh, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 42-09 28 Street, 17-63, Queens, NY 11101
• Email:
  awelch1@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Preventive Medicine
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8f5a374c241a2fe675f23520eb43a602ad45afe3564cab246b66cfe53fe03d784b663160407cb7fc1e3c62295591bedd8f0300631b060f1612709df71c791ab8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231584/cdc_231584_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 191.86 KB ]