Health Issues Linger for 9/11 EMS Workers
Published at
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Emergency medical service personnel who provided aid in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks suffer from a higher burden of health conditions than peers who did not work there, according to a new study.
The study, published Thursday in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, is the first to use medical charts to evaluate the health impacts on EMTs and paramedics involved in the 9/11 rescue efforts.
Researchers looked at 2,281 workers for 12 years, and found higher rates of chronic health conditions including acid reflux, asthma, COPD and sinusitis, PTSD, depression and harmful alcohol use.
Female EMS workers were found to have a higher incidence in most of these diagnosis than their male co-workers, according to researchers.
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.