From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-363606-615030
NEW YORK (UPI) -- One in eight Lower Manhattan residents likely had
post-traumatic stress disorder two to three years after the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks, a study found.
The study, published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, finds
residents who were injured during the attacks were the most likely to
develop PTSD.
The findings released by the New York City Health Department's World
Trade Center Health Registry show that Lower Manhattan residents
developed PTSD at three times the usual rate in the years following
the attacks. The rate among residents -- 12.6 percent -- matched the
rate previously reported among rescue and recovery workers -- 12.4
percent.
The study, based on surveys of 11,000 residents from the World Trade
Center Health Registry, is the first to measure the attack's long-term
effect on the mental health of community members, Dr. Thomas R.
Frieden, New York City health commissioner says.
Aside from injured residents -- 38 percent of whom developed symptoms
of PTSD -- the most affected groups were those who witnessed violent
deaths and those caught in the dust cloud after the twin towers
collapsed.
Roughly 17 percent suffered PTSD in each of those groups. The symptoms
most commonly reported were hyper-vigilance, nightmares and emotional
reactions to reminders of Sept. 11, 2001.