Every news organization reported on the devastation of 9/11 but one element that isn’t covered as well is how the day’s destruction effected the health of nearby school children.
The issue was addressed this month in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news regarding the impact of the environment on human health. The journal is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The article states that 3,184 children, 18 and under were greatly impacted by air pollution. These children include those in the lower Manhattan area due to living arrangements, school or other conditions that brought them to the area such offering assistance. Most of the children suffered from increased asthma rates.
In the first report of children enrolled in this registry, researchers observe that preschoolers exposed to smoke and dust from the collapsing towers had asthma rates twice the national average following the 9/11 attack, whereas asthma rates in exposed older children remained about average. Children in certain ethnic groups also experienced disproportionate asthma rates, although the reasons for this are unclear.
Research included phone interviews during 2003 and 2004 with the parents of younger children or children who had turned 18 after the 9/11 attacks. Research found that over half of the children were now having respiratory problems including coughing and sinus problems.
According to the article, Nearly 6% of the children were diagnosed with asthma after 9/11. During the interviews, 16% of children then aged 2–4 years had been diagnosed with asthma. This is more than twice the average for children that age in the Northeast. Asthma rates in older children weren’t as extreme when compared to original statistics, as their rate was only slightly higher than normal rates.
Asthma normally develops before children turn five and usually an environmental irritant triggers the onset.
The article states that the extreme amounts of smoke and dust from the collages could have been just such a trigger. Researchers point out that the older children might have had fewer new diagnoses because most children with asthma would have already been diagnosed at a younger age, prior to 9/11.
Another important factor is race. The study concluded that African American and Hispanic children are normally have a greater risk of being diagnosed with asthma than Caucasians or Asians.
Reasons for the racial disparities are unclear, although prior studies on ethnic disparities in asthma suggest that both genetics and environment may play a role in etiology of the disease. Children of all ages and ethnicity’s were more likely to develop asthma if they were caught in the cloud of cement dust created by the collapsing towers, as pulverized cement dust is known to irritate mucous membranes.
Although the study has missing information, such as how long after the attacks the children developed asthma and the inclusion of other contributing factors, such as genetics, the study is still of great importance. This study includes the largest collection of post-disaster data of children and it could potentially influence more children given that tens of thousands of New York City children could have been exposed to smoke and dust as a result of the attacks.
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