Work Disability, Early Retirement, and Loss of a Loved One in the World Trade Center Health Registry Cohort

Details

• Journal Article:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Brite, Jennifer ; Di Vitto, Matthew ; Metzler, Janna
• Description:
  Background: Existing research on the economic outcomes of 9/11 remains limited and has primarily focused on early retirement. Little is known about the prevalence of work disability and loss of a loved one and whether they are associated with survey attrition. Methods: The World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR) is a closed longitudinal cohort that recruited more than 71,000 participants at baseline (2003-2004). Bivariate analyses were conducted to compare the distribution of 9/11 exposure and sociodemographic factors for (1) work disability, (2) early retirement, and (3) loss of a loved one. Separate Poisson models were constructed to predict survey attrition. Results: Both those who were work-disabled and early-retired were more likely to be older, male, a rescue/recovery worker, and have greater 9/11 exposure. In addition, work disability was associated with lower income and educational attainment, and PTSD diagnosis. Loss of a loved one was associated with PTSD diagnosis and some measures of 9/11. Work disability was associated with higher and early retirement was associated with lower risk survey attrition at wave 4. Loss of a loved one was not associated with survey attrition. Conclusion: Early retirement, work disability, and loss of a loved one can have major impacts on an individual's economic wellbeing and are potentially qualifying events for social programs, such as Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits. Future research is needed to overcome the limitations of self-reported data in order to understand how timely receipt of SSA benefits can lead to better health trajectories among disaster- and trauma-exposed populations.
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Persons With Disabilities Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: 9/11; Health Bereavement; Early Retirement; Social Security Eligibility; Survey Attrition; Work Disability WTC; World Trade Center; Longitudinal Study; Health Surveys; Cohort Studies; Economic Impact; Wellbeing; Disabled Workers;
• Source:
  Am J Ind Med 2026 Mar; :[Epub ahead of print]
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• 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)
• Division:
  WTCHP - World Trade Center Health Program
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  14 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071268
• Contact Point Address:
  Jennifer Brite, Department of Nutrition and Public Health, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, New York, USA
• Email:
  Jennifer.brite@hunter.cuny.edu
• 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:e7ffb215382ee7380fc1dc0999fb4bb73c7940dbdb1d9da6d14f922e126b99aedcaa4f14863b84a011967af988f42f9ee9be1541918c6fb90cab92abe8949d85
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258746/cdc_258746_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 909.69 KB ]