Probable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks and Self-Inflicted Injury-Related Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits

Details

• Journal Article:
  Journal of Traumatic Stress
• Personal Author:
  Locke, Sean ; Sisti, Julia S. ; Takemoto, Erin ; Sell, Kacie ; Pollari, Cristina ; Cone, James E. ; Li, Jiehui
• Description:
  Self-inflicted injury is a known risk factor for suicide. Previous studies have reported associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self-inflicted injury; however, this association has not been widely studied among disaster-exposed populations. Among 50,386 enrollees in the World Trade Center Health Registry, a cohort of individuals exposed to the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City (9/11), we examined longitudinal associations between probable 9/11-related PTSD and hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits for self-inflicted injuries that occurred between study enrollment (2003-2004) and 2015. Time-dependent Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations of time-varying probable 9/11-related PTSD and self-inflicted injury, adjusting for sociodemographic and pre-9/11 mental health symptoms. At study enrollment, 11.0% of enrollees had probable PTSD. Over a median follow-up period of 11.2 years, a total of 171 hospitalizations/ED visits for self-inflicted injury occurred among 146 enrollees. When comparing individuals with probable PTSD to those without probable PTSD, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for self-inflicted injury was 2.45, 95% CI [1.63, 3.66]. Evidence of effect modification by age group was not observed. Our findings suggest that surveillance for PTSD among disaster-exposed populations may help identify individuals at high risk of self-inflicted injury who could benefit from targeted interventions.
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Suicide
• Keywords:
  Post-traumatic stress disorder; PTSD; WTC; World Trade Center; Terrorism; Mental health; Suicide; Injuries; Emergency care; Medical care; Cohort studies; Longitudinal study
• Source:
  J Trauma Stress 2026 Feb; 39(1):110-118
• ISSN:
  0894-9867
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; New York City Region [OSHA] ; New York City (NY)
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9 pdf pages
• Volume:
  39
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071256
• Contact Point Address:
  Jiehui Li, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, 42-09 28th Street,CN-6W, Long Island City, NY, 11101, USA
• Email:
  jli3@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d56ce899ac7396e1df021bc118f4840c6ee6fdc494be9369ba2c72c1a92bf312ef5375e43bc5a670688140126bf273bfe18e806bcc6661b03e9b7d673f98a9fd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258734/cdc_258734_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 201.20 KB ]