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More than 20 years have elapsed since the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), Pentagon and at Shanksville, PA. Many persons continue to suffer a variety of physical and mental health conditions following their exposures to a mixture of incompletely characterized toxicants and psychological stressors at the terrorist attack sites. Primary care and specialized clinicians should ask patients who may have been present at any of the 9/11 sites about their 9/11 exposures, especially patients with cancer, respiratory symptoms, chronic rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, psychiatric symptoms, and substance use disorders. Clinicians, especially those in the NY metropolitan area, should know how to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients with conditions that could be associated with exposure to the 9/11 attacks and its aftermath. As such, this issue of Archives contains a series of updates to clinical best practices relevant to medical conditions whose treatment is covered by the WTC Health Program. This first paper in the 14-part series describes the purpose of this series, defines the WTC Health Program and its beneficiaries, and explains how relevant Clinical Practice Guidelines were identified. This paper also reminds readers that because physical and mental health conditions are often intertwined, a coordinated approach to care usually works best and referral to health centers affiliated with the WTC Health Program may be necessary, since all such Centers offer multidisciplinary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over 90,000 rescue and recovery responders to the September 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) attacks were exposed to toxic materials that can impair cardiac function and increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. We examined WTC‐related exposures association with annual and cumulative CVD incidence and risk over 17 years in the WTC Health Program (HP) General Responder Cohort (GRC). Methods: Post 9/11 first occurrence of CVD was assessed in 37,725 responders from self‐reported physician diagnosis of, or current treatment for, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke and/or congestive heart failure from WTCHP GRC monitoring visits. Kaplan–Meier estimates of CVD incidence used the generalized Wilcoxon test statistic to account for censored data. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses estimated the CVD hazard ratio associated with 9/11/2001 arrival in responders with and without dust cloud exposure, compared with arrival on or after 9/12/2001. Additional analyses adjusted for comorbidities. Results: To date, 6.3% reported new CVD. In covariate‐adjusted analyses, men's CVD 9/11/2001 arrival risks were 1.40 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26, 1.56) and 1.43 (95% CI = 1.29, 1.58) and women's were 2.16 (95% CI = 1.49, 3.11) and 1.59 (95% CI = 1.11, 2.27) with and without dust cloud exposure, respectively. Protective service employment on 9/11 had higher CVD risk. Conclusions: WTCHP GRC members with 9/11/2001 exposures had substantially higher CVD risk than those initiating work afterward, consistent with observations among WTC‐exposed New York City firefighters. Women's risk was greater than that of men's. GRC‐elevated CVD risk may also be occurring at a younger age than in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: This study examined the prevalence, correlates, and perceived mental healthcare needs associated with subsyndromal PTSD in police involved in the World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery effort. Methods: A total of 8466 police completed an interview/survey as part of the WTC Medical monitoring and Treatment Program an average of four years after 9/11/2001. Results: The past month prevalence of full and subsyndromal WTC-related PTSD was 5.4% and 15.4%, respectively. Loss of someone or knowing someone injured on 9/11 (odds ratios [ORs]=1.56–1.86), pre-9/11 stressors (ORs=1.30–1.50), family support (ORs=0.83–0.94), and union membership (ORs=0.50–0.52) were associated with both full and subsyndromal PTSD. Exposure to the dust cloud (OR=1.36), performing search and rescue work (OR=1.29), and work support (OR=0.89) were additionally associated with subsyndromal PTSD. Rates of comorbid depression, panic disorder, and alcohol use problems (ORs=3.82–41.74), and somatic symptoms and functional difficulties (ORs=1.30–1.95) were highest among police with full PTSD, with intermediate rates among police with subsyndromal PTSD (ORs=2.93–7.02; and ORs=1.18–1.60, respectively). Police with full and subsyndromal PTSD were significantly more likely than controls to report needing mental healthcare (41.1% and 19.8%, respectively, versus 6.8% in trauma controls). Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of a more inclusive and dimensional conceptualization of PTSD, particularly in professions such as police, as operational definitions and conventional screening cut-points may underestimate the psychological burden for this population. Accordingly, psychiatric clinicians should assess for disaster-related subsyndromal PTSD symptoms in disaster response personnel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a cohort study which examines the 9-year incidence and prevalence of physical and mental health disorders of the rescue and recovery workers in the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. The study explores the incidence rates of multiple health problems and their associations with occupational risk exposures. Findings show incidences of physical disorders such as asthma and sinusitis and mental disorders like depression.