The overall goal of this two-year study is to calculate in 21,786 World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed and unexposed firefighters and emergency medical service workers and to estimate the association between intense WTC exposure and Systemic Autoimmune Diseases (SAID). If results suggest that SAID are increased in relation to WTC exposure, FDNY and other centers of excellence could then incorporate active case finding into routine monitoring visits, facilitating early detection and treatment, which has been shown to reduce end-organ damage and improve quality of life.
The aim of the study was to test the association between acute (arrival time at the World Trade Center (WTC) site) and chronic (months of WTC-related work) exposures and new onset systemic autoimmune diseases among firefighters and Emergency Medical Service workers. We performed a nested case-control study by individually matching each rheumatologist-confirmed case diagnosed between 9/12/2001 and 9/11/2013 (n=59) to 4 randomly selected controls. We found prolonged work at the WTC site, independent of acute exposure, was an important predictor of post-9/11 systemic autoimmune diseases. The WTC Health Program should expand surveillance efforts for those with extended exposures as early detection can facilitate early treatment, which has been shown to minimize end-organ damage and improve quality of life.
Loupasakis K, Berman J, Jaber N, et al. 2015. Refractory sarcoid arthritis in World Trade Center-exposed New York City firefighters: A case series. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology: Practical Reports on Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases. 21(1):19–23.
Webber M, Moir W, Crowson C, et al. 2016. Post-September 11, 2001, incidence of systemic autoimmune diseases in World Trade Center-exposed firefighters and emergency medical service workers. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 91(1):23–32.
Webber M, Moir W, Zeig-Owens R, et al. 2015. Nested case-control study of selected systemic autoimmune diseases in World Trade Center rescue/recovery workers. Arthritis & Rheumatology. 67(5):1369–76.
