Psychological trauma after 9/11 attack lingers

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-12 09:32

LOS ANGELES -- Psychological trauma and new respiratory problems were still elevated among people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry years after the 9/11 terror attack, a new study showed.

Two to three years after 9/11, 3 percent of all adult enrollees reported they'd developed new asthma, 16 percent had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 8 percent had severe psychological distress, according to the study published in the September issue of the Journal of Urban Health on the eve of the 9/11 7th anniversary.

Rescue and recovery workers who worked on the debris pile had the highest rate of new asthma (6 percent), while the PTSD rate was highest among injured (35 percent), low-income (31 percent) and Hispanic (30 percent) enrollees, said the study by the New York City Health Department.

Overall, minorities, people with low incomes, and women experienced higher rates of mental and physical problems, the study said.

The study looked at the health effects among all 71,437 participants of the registry, which includes rescue and recovery workers, lower Manhattan residents, area workers, commuters and passersby.

Among the registrants: more than half reported being in the dust cloud from the collapsing World Trade Center towers; 70 percent witnessed a traumatic sight, such as a plane hitting a tower; and 13 percent suffered an injury on 9/11.

Those 71,437 people represent only about 17.4 percent of people whose exposure to the disaster would have made them eligible to enroll in the registry.