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Before September 11, 2001, few statistics addressed the long-term health consequences of cleaning up after terrorist attacks. Several ongoing cohort studies now are filling that gap with information on both physical and psychiatric effects.
Among a group of more than 27,000 rescue and recovery workers at the World Trade Center (86% male; 39% current or former smokers), researchers found a 28% cumulative incidence of asthma and a 42% incidence of sinusitis by year 9. The highest incidence of both was in year 1 of follow-up, but cases mounted steadily afterward. Cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease increased steadily during follow-up, with a 9-year cumulative incidence of 39%.
Rough dose-response curves correlating the intensity of an indiv…