|
Health News
WTC responders have double asthma rate
SAN DIEGO, Nov 4, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Responders to the World Trade Center
terrorist attacks in New York have double the rate of asthma compared to the
general population, U.S. researchers say.
Eight percent of the workers and volunteers who engaged in rescue and recovery,
essential service restoration and cleanup efforts in the wake of the attacks
suffer from asthma compared with 4 percent of the general population.
Furthermore, the lifetime prevalence of asthma in World Trade Center responders
was marked by a dramatic increase from 3 percent pre-Sept. 11, 2001, to a high
of 16 percent in each of the years from 2005-2007.
"Although previous World Trade Center studies have shown significant respiratory
problems, this is the first study to directly quantify the magnitude of asthma
among World Trade Center responders compared with the general U.S. population,"
lead author Hyun Kim of Mount Sinai School of Medicine said in a statement.
The study used the health-related data of 20,843 responders who received an
initial medical screening examination from July 2002 through December 2007.
In the general population, the prevalence of asthma in the previous 12 months
remained relatively constant at slightly less than 4 percent from 2000-2007. In
contrast, among World Trade Center responders, while fewer than 1 percent
recalled asthma episodes or attacks during the year 2000, the percentage
increased to 8 percent, and then remained constant, through the period from
2005-2007.
The findings were presented at the 75th annual international scientific assembly
of the American College of Chest Physicians.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright: Copyright 2009 by United Press International
Show all Health News headlines
|
Printer-friendly format