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. 2008 Sep 11;85(6):880–909. doi: 10.1007/s11524-008-9317-4

Table 3.

Health outcomes and bivariate associations with demographic characteristics, risk factors, and self-reported event exposures among registrants 18 years of age and older at interview, World Trade Center Health Registry (N = 68,444)

Parameter Totala Respiratory health measures Mental health measures
Any new or worsening respiratory symptomsb Newly diagnosed asthma Serious psychological distress (SPD)c Probable PTSDd
N % N % p value N % p value N % p value N % p value
Total adults 68,444 100.0 45,889 67.1 1,967 2.9 5,604 8.4 10,693 16.3
Source of interview
List-identified 20,780 30.4 11,139 53.6 0.0001 335 1.6 0.0001 1,434 7.2 0.0001 2,502 12.7 0.0001
Self-identified 47,664 69.6 34,750 72.9 1,632 3.5 4,170 9.0 8,191 17.8  
Demographics
Gender
Male 41,343 60.4 27,194 65.8 0.0001 1,013 2.5 0.0001 2,753 6.8 0.0001 5,430 13.6 0.0001
Female 27,099 39.6 18,694 69.0 954 3.6 2,850 10.8 5,262 20.4
Age group at interview
18–24 2,635 3.9 1,419 53.9 0.0001 72 2.8 0.586 175 6.8 0.0001 282 10.9 0.0001
25–44 33,927 49.6 22,570 66.5 999 3.0 2,485 7.5 5,036 15.3
45–64 28,362 41.4 19,662 69.3 808 2.9 2,670 9.7 4,993 18.4
65+ 3,520 5.1 2,238 63.6 88 2.6 274 8.5 382 12.5
Race/ethnicity
Non Hispanic White 43,560 63.6 27,606 63.4 0.0001 1,192 2.8 0.0001 2,504 5.8 0.0001 4,946 11.6 0.0001
Non-Hispanic Black 8,214 12.0 6,261 76.2 206 2.5 943 11.9 1,962 24.8
Hispanic 9,026 13.2 6,912 76.6 332 3.7 1,473 16.9 2,628 30.1
Asian 4,828 7.1 3,083 63.9 156 3.3 376 8.3 647 14.6
Other 2,816 4.1 2,027 72.0 81 3.0 308 12.5 510 23.6
Total household income at interview (in thousands)
<25 6,858 11.3 4,897 71.4 0.0001 246 3.6 0.0018j 1,420 21.6 0.0001 2,017 31.4 0.0001
25 to <50 13,081 21.6 9,296 71.1 359 2.8 1,624 12.8 2,958 23.3
50 to <75 12,791 21.1 8,978 70.2 389 3.1 919 7.3 2,001 16.0
75 to <150 20,648 34.1 13,950 67.6 630 3.1 940 4.6 2,287 11.3
≥150 7,122 11.8 3,945 55.4 152 2.1 204 2.9 579 8.3
Risk factors, event exposures, and experiences
All adult enrollees
Smoking status at interview
Current smoker 10,832 16.1 8,010 74.0 0.0001 279 2.6 0.090 1,515 14.3 0.0001 2,515 23.9 0.0001
Former smoker 17,961 26.6 12,244 68.2 525 2.9 1,181 6.7 2,503 14.4
Never smoker 38,699 57.3 25,153 65.0 1150 3.0 2,843 7.5 5,621 15.0
Caught in the dust and debris cloud that resulted from the collapse of the towers on 9/11
Yes 35,109 51.6 26,640 75.9 0.0001 1,161 3.3 0.0001 3,700 10.8 0.0001 7,243 21.5 0.0001
No 32,886 48.4 19,062 58.0 796 2.4 1,885 5.9 3,415 10.8
Witnessed a traumatic event on 9/11
Yes 47,767 70.1 34,172 71.5 0.0001 1,493 3.1 0.0001 4,600 9.9 0.0001 8,950 19.5 0.0001
No 20,378 29.9 11,633 57.1 465 2.3 990 5.0 1,721 8.7
Sustained an injury on 9/11
Yes 9,079 13.3 7,802 85.9 0.0001 384 4.3 0.0001 1,637 18.6 0.0001 3,037 35.0 0.0001
No 59,211 86.7 38,086 64.3 1,583 2.7 3,967 6.9 7,656 13.4
Rescue–recovery workers and volunteers
Totale 30,546 44.6 21,033 68.9 971 3.2 2,134 7.2 4,206 14.2
Location of rescue/recovery workf
Worked at WTC on pile 12,494 40.9 9,966 79.8 0.0001 510 4.1 0.0001 815 6.7 0.0041 1,805 14.8 0.0001
Worked at WTC in another area 17,115 56.0 10,583 61.8 437 2.6 1,264 7.6 2,329 14.1
Worked at Staten Island recovery operations 828 2.7 412 49.8 20 2.4 43 5.3 57 7.0
Worked on a transport barge 80 0.3 51 63.8 2 2.5 5 6.5 8 10.1
Worked on pile on September 11, 2001
Yes 4,096 13.4 3,604 88.0 0.0001 255 6.3 0.0001 241 6.0 0.003 667 16.7 0.0001
No 26,443 86.6 17,422 65.9 715 2.7 1,892 7.3 3,538 13.8
Residents
Totale,g 12,371 18.1 8,153 65.9 373 3.1 1,132 9.6 1,775 15.5
Evacuated home
Yes, returned by interview 6,836 55.8 4,478 65.5 0.0026 184 2.7 0.0065 575 8.6 0.0004 987 15.1 0.0005
Yes, did not return by interview 622 5.1 392 63.0 14 2.3 67 10.9 126 21.1
Did not evacuate home 4,804 39.2 3,272 68.1 174 3.7 488 10.8 660 15.2
Period when residential evacuees returned homeh
September 11–13, 2001 594 8.8 431 72.6 0.0001 21 3.6 0.0184j 80 13.9 0.0001 133 23.9 0.0001
September 14–19, 2001 1,534 22.7 1,016 66.2 48 3.2 127 8.5 188 12.8
September 20–October 19, 2001 3,058 45.3 1,910 62.5 80 2.6 211 7.1 391 13.3
October 20–November 19, 2001 801 11.8 520 64.9 17 2.1 59 7.6 101 13.3
November 20–December 19, 2001 349 5.2 233 66.8 6 1.7 37 10.8 54 16.2
After December 19, 2001 416 6.2 300 72.1 8 1.9 48 11.9 96 23.8
Building occupants, passersby, and people in transit south of Chambers Street on 9/11
Totale 41,666 60.9 28,847 69.2 1,247 3.0 3,998 9.9 7,752 19.4
Location on 9/11
Occupant of damaged or destroyed building 10,276 25.0 6,256 60.9 0.0001 255 2.5 0.0001 1,072 10.7 0.0001 2,134 21.4 0.0001
Occupant of undamaged building 18,993 46.1 13,517 71.2 555 2.9 1,653 8.9 3,164 17.3
On the street or in transit 11,917 28.9 8,713 73.1 425 3.6 1,210 10.6 2,348 20.8
Evacuated workplace
Yes, returned by interview 16,909 57.6 12,205 72.2 0.0001 456 2.7 0.0001 1,369 8.3 0.0001 2,898 17.7 0.0001
Yes, did not return by interview 7,332 25.0 3,999 54.5 131 1.8 888 12.4 1,625 23.1
Did not evacuate workplace 5,096 17.4 3,642 71.5 158 3.1 570 11.6 1,043 21.4
Period when evacuated workers returned to worki
September 11–13, 2001 2,963 14.4 2,333 78.7 0.0001 104 3.5 0.0632j 287 10.0 0.0503 596 20.8 0.0001
September 14–19, 2001 8,726 42.3 6,323 72.5 240 2.8 713 8.4 1,485 17.5
September 20–October 19, 2001 7,053 34.2 5,094 72.2 190 2.7 612 8.9 1,213 17.8
October 20–November 19, 2001 1,194 5.8 834 69.9 38 3.2 88 7.5 212 18.4
November 20–December 19, 2001 488 2.4 295 60.5 9 1.9 35 7.3 61 12.9
After December 19, 2001 231 1.1 158 68.4 5 2.2 20 9.0 44 19.7

aTotals do not add up to 68,444 because not all the enrollees answered all the questions. Among all adults, N missing = 2 for gender, 7,944 for income, 952 for smoking status, 449 for dust, 229 for traumatic events and 150 for injury. Totals and percentages are based on non-missing values only.

bIncludes persistent cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, throat irritation, or sinus irritation

cMeasured by Kessler-6. All six questions must have been answered.

dMeasured by PTSD Checklist. All 17 items must have been answered.

eIncludes school staff and adult students only if they are eligible in one of the other three eligibility categories (workers, residents, building occupants). A total of 80 school staff and 58 adult students are excluded

fIf enrollee worked at both WTC and Staten Island/Barge sites, working at the WTC site took precedence for categorization.

gIncludes 953 adult residents from zip codes 10002 and 10013 that lived north of Canal Street on 9/11

hAsked only of residents south of Canal Street who reported that they evacuated. Categories of dates based on when rainfall occurred (September 14th and 19th), and when the fires at the WTC site were extinguished (December 19th).

iAsked only of registrants who worked in a building south of Chambers Street and evacuated. Categories of dates based on when rainfall occurred (September 14th and 19th), and when the fires at the WTC site were extinguished (December 19th).

jBased on Cochran–Armitage test for trend in proportions