Almost 25 years after the September 11 attacks, some first responders still show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new study by researchers at Stony Brook Medicine and the World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program at Stony Brook University.
While most patients reported improvement in their PTSD symptoms, about one in 10 experienced persistent or worse symptoms years after the attacks, the median time before symptoms improved was between eight and 10 years.
“Clinicians and public health officials need to think long-term and anticipate a delayed peak in symptom burden following trauma," said Frank Mann, PhD, the study's lead researcher. "Continual monitoring for those exposed to trauma is key. Otherwise, a lot of folks are going to fall between the cracks.”
Mann said PTSD cut across all demographics, except occupation. Untrained volunteers like the office workers, reporters, and food vendors who pitched in to help dig through the rubble were more likely to experience lingering symptoms.
“They [untrained volunteers] don't go through any sort of formal training regimen to prepare themselves for these sorts of traumas," Mann said. "They also don't tend to have as much experience dealing with traumas like a firefighter or a police officer, or an EMS worker would.”
They studied almost 13,000 participants over 20 years, beginning in 2002.
