NEW YORK, United States — Federal health researchers are launching a new research effort to better understand the long-term health effects of September 11, 2001, on people who were exposed to the World Trade Center disaster as children and young adults.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which administers the World Trade Center Health Program, said Aug. 25 that the program is establishing a research cohort for people who were 21 years old or younger when they were exposed to 9/11.
The initiative is intended to address a significant gap in existing research. More than 1,500 scientific publications have examined health effects among people exposed to 9/11, but NIOSH said relatively little research has focused specifically on those who were exposed during childhood, adolescence, young adulthood or before birth.
Researchers focus on early-life exposure
The new research effort will examine people who were exposed while their mother was pregnant, in utero, or during childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.
NIOSH said younger people may experience different health consequences from environmental exposure because their bodies are still developing. Children can also receive proportionally greater exposure relative to body size and may process and eliminate some harmful chemicals differently from adults.
Researchers have identified several areas for further study, including respiratory health and lung development, reproductive health, brain and mental health, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The new cohort will allow researchers to examine these questions over time rather than relying only on studies conducted shortly after the attacks.
Earlier studies found lasting health effects
Research conducted over the years has already identified health problems among people who were children when the World Trade Center was attacked.
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A study of children enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry found that exposure to the dust cloud was associated with new asthma diagnoses. Researchers also reported respiratory symptoms among a substantial share of the children studied.
Another study of children who were 8 or younger on Sept. 11 found associations between World Trade Center exposure and the later development of asthma. Both direct exposure to the dust cloud and exposure to dust inside homes were associated with higher asthma risk.
Researchers have also found evidence that some environmental contaminants remained relevant long after the attacks. A study of adolescents exposed to the World Trade Center collapse found elevated levels of dioxins and furans more than 12 years after 9/11 compared with an unexposed comparison group.
The findings do not establish that every person exposed during childhood will develop a long-term illness. They demonstrate why researchers consider continued monitoring important.
Mental and physical health remain part of the research
The health questions extend beyond respiratory disease.
A study examining people directly exposed to 9/11 as children found that those with high exposure were more likely than an unexposed comparison group to report psychiatric disorders and physical health conditions later in life. The study also found a higher prevalence of combined physical and psychiatric conditions among the highly exposed group.
Researchers have separately reported increased hospitalization risks among people who were younger than 18 when exposed to the World Trade Center disaster. The findings supported continued long-term monitoring of people exposed during childhood.
These studies form part of the evidence base behind the federal government’s decision to expand research focused specifically on early-life exposure.
New cohort aims to close research gap
NIOSH said the new cohort is an important first step toward addressing the limited amount of research involving people exposed to 9/11 at young ages.
The World Trade Center Health Program has funded research into 9/11-related health effects since 2011. Its research has contributed to understanding illnesses affecting responders and community members, but the agency says much less is known about how exposure during key stages of development may affect health later in life.
The agency is inviting people who were 21 or younger at the time of their exposure, as well as others interested in the initiative, to receive information about the research effort. Details on participation will be provided as the program develops.
The new research will therefore focus not only on documenting illnesses already associated with 9/11 exposure, but also on determining how early-life exposure may influence health across the life course.
Reporting Credit: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the World Trade Center Health Program — official information on the new early-life exposure research cohort, research priorities and existing evidence on health effects among people exposed to 9/11 at young ages.
