Adults who were near the World Trade Center around the time it was attacked in 2001 have been twice as likely to develop asthma as the general population, a new analysis of public health registry data has found.
The study of data from the World Trade Center Health Registry, released on Wednesday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, tracks health effects two to three years after the attack. It suggests that 3 percent of adult residents and workers in the area on the morning of the attack and soon afterward have developed asthma, twice the rate of newly diagnosed asthma in the general population for the same period.
Asthma was more prevalent among adult residents who did not leave the area on 9/11 or who returned home within two days — nearly 4 percent — and less prevalent, at 2 percent, among those who were away until December.
The study estimates that 3,800 to 12,600 adults exposed to the World Trade Center disaster site developed asthma, and that 35,000 to 70,000 adults developed post-traumatic stress syndrome. Women, members of minorities and people with low incomes have higher rates of both physical and mental problems, the study says.
Linda Thorpe, a deputy commissioner for epidemiology in the health department, said on Wednesday that the analysis provided high and low estimates to account for the possibility that people who were feeling sick or who had had more intense exposure to the disaster site might have been more motivated to sign up for the study. The numbers were based on telephone interviews.
Officials say that the analysis provides the most complete picture yet of the health of 71,437 people, including rescue workers, area workers, passers-by and residents, who agreed to be tracked for up to 20 years after the attack. They represent 17.4 percent of the 410,000 people most intensely exposed to the disaster site. The registry is run by the city’s health department and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Also on Wednesday, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board announced that 31,543 workers and volunteers who said they performed rescue, recovery or cleanup work at the World Trade Center had filed notices preserving their right to file for workers’ compensation claims arising from those efforts. These workers did not file formal workers’ compensation claims, but preserved their right to do so if they concluded in the future that an illness stemmed from their work at ground zero.
Normally workers have two years after suffering an injury to file for workers’ compensation claims, but special provisions were made for those who worked at ground zero. Under new legislation, Sept. 11, 2010, is the deadline for submitting notices preserving the right to file such claims.
The workers’ compensation board said that 12,234 cases had resulted from the 9/11 attack.
