Washington - Rescue workers exposed to dust and pollutants following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, suffer from asthma at more than twice the rate of the general US population, according to new data released Tuesday. Eight per cent of rescue workers and recovery volunteers experienced post-9-11 asthma attacks, which are typically seen in only 4 per cent of the general population, researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine said.
"Although previous WTC (World Trace Center) studies have shown significant respiratory problems, this is the first study to directly quantify the magnitude of asthma among WTC responders," said lead author Hyun Kim.
Researchers, who presented the data at the 75th annual assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) in San Diego, examined the medical records of 20,843 workers who were screened between July 2002 and December 2007.
An estimated 86 per cent of the workers were men who were at the WTC site for an average of 80 days.
"The significant chronic health problems associated with the WTC attacks only reinforces the need for stronger disaster preparedness plans as well as long-term medical follow-up for 9-11 responders," said ACCP president Kalpalatha Guntupalli.
