Study: 70,000 May Suffer Post-9/11 Stress Disorder
Verena Dobnik / AP
September 11, 2008
NEW YORK – New data from a public health registry that tracks the health effects of 9/11 suggest that as many as 70,000 people may have developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the terrorist attacks.
The estimate, released Wednesday by New York City’s Department of Health, is based on an analysis of the health of 71,437 people who enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry. They agreed to be tracked for up to 20 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and the study was based on answers they volunteered about their health two and three years after the attack.
Of the estimated 400,000 people believed to have been heavily exposed to pollution from the disaster, data suggests that 35,000 to 70,000 people developed PTSD and 3,800 to 12,600 may have developed asthma, city health officials said.
They include rescue and recovery workers, lower Manhattan residents, area workers, commuters and passers-by.
Overall, half of the respondents said they had been in the dust cloud from the collapsing towers; 70 percent witnessed a traumatic sight, such as a plane hitting the tower or falling bodies; and 13 percent sustained an injury that day.
“The consensus among physicians is that when it comes to physical health, the vast majority of people felt symptoms in the first year,” said Lorna Thorpe, the deputy commissioner for epidemiology at the New York City Health Department. “A small proportion of people, however, developed symptoms years later. And in some cases, it’s hard to tell whether they’re World Trade Center-related or a result of allergies or existing conditions.”
The post-traumatic stress disorder rate was highest among injured, low-income and Hispanic study volunteers. In general, minorities and low-income respondents experienced higher rates of mental and physical problems, as did women.
The study was conducted by the city health department and the federal Centers for Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. It was released in the Journal of Urban Health.
The city offers free physical and mental health care to eligible people affected by the attacks.
(c) YellowBrix 2008
sap
about 1 month ago
674 comments
I liked this article. I'm just hoping that people won't take "advantage" of it. People are always trying to do things like that. Some like to benefit from diseasters and that's a real sickness to me.
casassy62688
2 months ago
262 comments
Very interesting article, really makes you think.
rusty97015
2 months ago
28 comments
Very interesting. It is very telling that the people most affected seem to be women, minorities, and the poor. My belief is that it has something to do with health insurance, access to affordable healthcare, and the overall lack of community support available to people in low-income brackets. My judgment, also, is that money, or access to money, plays a significant role in a family's ability to deal with stress. Financial stress is a huge, often overlooked, problem in this country... after all, its the major source of divorce in this country. If I have to work constantly just to pay the bills, how likely am I to acknowledge my health issues. I would love to see a study that addresses these issues and lets me know whether I'm right... or off in left field!
jessbarnes84
2 months ago
426 comments
I agree with emtpixie on this. I also think its great that The city is still offering free mental/physical health care and I will mos. def. check out kayakrn7 post. Thanks cdnurse.
emtpixie
2 months ago
198 comments
I'm willing to bet the numbers are much higher than that if we look at the effects on people all across the country.
cdnurse
2 months ago
3240 comments
Please check out the article that kayakrn7 posted on responding to disasters.
cdnurse
2 months ago
3240 comments
thank you for this great article. The attack had a major impact on the citizens of NY. I am guessing that we will never know the full amount of harm that was done to the psyche of the people who were there.