Table. Demographic and Other Characteristics of the Fire Department of the City of New York Population by Thyroid Cancer Detection Methoda.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Asymptomatic cases (n = 53) | Symptomatic cases (n = 12) | |
| WTC arrival group | ||
| Morning of 9/11 | 9 (17.0) | 2 (16.7) |
| Afternoon of 9/11 | 25 (47.2) | 5 (41.7) |
| 9/12/2001 | 9 (17.0) | 3 (25.0) |
| 9/13/2001-9/24/2001 | 9 (17.0) | 2 (16.7) |
| After 9/24/2001 | 1 (1.9) | 0 |
| WTC work duration, median (IQR), mo | 3 (1.0-6.0) | 2.5 (1.5-4.5) |
| Age on 9/11, median (IQR) | 38.8 (32.5-46.8) | 36.2 (31.1-41.7) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| White | 47 (88.7) | 10 (83.3) |
| Nonwhite | 6 (11.3) | 2 (16.7) |
| Current smoking status | ||
| Never smoker | 38 (71.7) | 10 (83.3) |
| Ever smoker | 15 (28.3) | 2 (16.7) |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 |
| BMI at end of follow-up, mean (SD)b | 30.9 (3.9) | 30.8 (3.2) |
| Work assignment | ||
| Firefighter | 50 (94.3) | 10 (83.3) |
| Emergency medical service | 3 (5.7) | 2 (16.7) |
| Died | 1 (1.9) | 0 |
| Age at diagnosis, median (IQR) | 50.2 (44.0-58.6) | 46.6 (43.9-52.9) |
| Range | 30.3-76.3 | 38.2-59.6 |
| Years to diagnosis post-9/11, median (IQR) | 12.2 (6.7-14.4) | 11.5 (7.8-16.0) |
| Prediagnostic testingc | 33 (62.3) | 4 (33.3) |
| Thyroid cancer histologic findings | ||
| Papillary | 52 (98.1) | 12 (100.0) |
| Follicular | 1 (1.9) | 0 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); IQR, interquartile range; WTC, World Trade Center.
a
Does not include the 7 cases in which no method of detection could be determined.
b
Body mass index data only available for 52 asymptomatic cases.
c
Included chest and sinus computed tomographic scans, sleep studies, gastrointestinal tract tests, echocardiograms, magnetic resonance imaging of the head and neck, stress tests, positron emission tomographic scans, cervical imaging, or surgery.