Urban Exposures, Frailty, and Mental Illness in World Trade Center Health Program Responders.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

General responders of the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program (WTCHP), who were uniquely exposed to chemical toxicants and extreme psychological stress during the 2001 terrorist attack, now experience a wide range of unusually prevalent health outcomes for a mid-aged population, including frailty, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and depression.

Objective

We investigated whether these outcomes are associated with urban environmental exposures experienced in the two decades post 9/11.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

WTCHP general responders' cohort.

Participants

We included 18,861 WTCHP general responders between the years 2003 to 2023 who took part in rescue, recovery, and clean-up tasks following the 9/11/2001 attack on the

SUBMITTER: Krasnov H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12803383 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature