Asthma, PTSD still linger for NYC 9/11 survivors

Asthma, PTSD still linger for NYC 9/11 survivors
By DEEPTI HAJELA (AP) – 2 hours ago

NEW YORK — People who were heavily exposed to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center still had elevated risks of developing post-traumatic stress disorder even five years later, according to a study released Tuesday by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The study contained better news about asthma. While those who developed respiratory symptoms soon after the attacks were still being diagnosed with asthma some years later, rates among people who first showed symptoms after 2003 were consistent with normal asthma rates.

"What this study shows fairly thoroughly, there was a very strong association between the intense exposure" on Sept. 11 and the days immediately following, in terms of developing asthma, said Lorna Thorpe, deputy commissioner for epidemiology and a co-author of the study.

"There were lingering effects, but those lingering effects have ameliorated."

The study, based on data from a public health registry that tracks the health effects of Sept. 11, found elevated levels of post-traumatic stress disorder among the more than 46,000 people who were surveyed in 2006-2007.

Rescue and recovery workers had the highest rates of new asthma diagnoses, and their risk was even higher if they were at the World Trade Center site on 9/11 itself or worked there for longer than 90 days. People who had to deal with heavy layers of dust in their homes or offices also had a higher risk of developing asthma.

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Asthma, PTSD still linger for NYC 9/11 survivors