美9•11事件七週年 七萬人創傷仍未平

New data from a public health registry that tracks the health effects of 9/11 suggest that as many as 70,000 people may have developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the terrorist attacks.

The estimate, released Wednesday by New York City's Department of Health, is based on an analysis of the health of 71,437 people who enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry. They agreed to be tracked for up to 20 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and the study was based on answers they volunteered about their health two and three years after the attack.

Of the estimated 400,000 people believed to have been heavily exposed to pollution from the disaster, data suggests that 35,000 to 70,000 people developed PTSD and 3,800 to 12,600 may have developed asthma, city health officials said.

They include rescue and recovery workers, lower Manhattan residents, area workers, commuters and passers-by.

Overall, half of the respondents said they had been in the dust cloud from the collapsing towers; 70 percent witnessed a traumatic sight, such as a plane hitting the tower or falling bodies; and 13 percent sustained an injury that day.

"The consensus among physicians is that when it comes to physical health, the vast majority of people felt symptoms in the first year," said Lorna Thorpe, the deputy commissioner for epidemiology at the New York City Health Department. "A small proportion of people, however, developed symptoms years later. And in some cases, it's hard to tell whether they're World Trade Center-related or a result of allergies or existing conditions."

The post-traumatic stress disorder rate was highest among injured, low-income and Hispanic study volunteers. In general, minorities and low-income respondents experienced higher rates of mental and physical problems, as did women.

The study was conducted by the city health department and the federal Centers for Disease Control's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. It was released in the Journal of Urban Health.

據一個公共健康登記機構發佈的最新數據顯示，當年的9•11恐怖襲擊導致7萬人患上了“創傷後應激障礙綜合症”（PTSD）。這家機構一直在跟蹤調查9•11事件給民衆健康造成的影響。

紐約市衛生署於本週三發佈的這項評估，主要根據對“世貿中心健康登記機構”71437名成員的健康狀況進行分析後得出。這些成員同意自2001年恐怖襲擊事件後接受該機構長達20年的健康跟蹤調查。而這項研究的依據就是他們在事後兩三年提供的關於自身健康的報告。

9•11造成的污染讓約40萬人的健康受到嚴重傷害。據市衛生署的有關官員介紹，統計數據顯示，有3.5萬至7萬人患上了PTSD心理後遺症，另有0.38萬到1.26萬人可能得了哮喘。

這其中包括參與事後救援和重建的人員、曼哈頓下城區居民、區域工人、上班族和過路人。

總體來看，有一半的受訪者稱當時他們被籠罩在大樓倒塌產生的巨大煙塵中，70%的人親眼目睹了飛機撞上大廈和屍體橫飛的恐怖場景；還有13%的人受了傷。

紐約市衛生署流行病科副主任羅娜•索普說：“醫學專家普遍認爲，在生理方面，大多數人在事後的第一年就感覺到了症狀；也有一小部分人是在幾年後才呈現出病狀。有時則很難判斷他們的症狀究竟是與世貿事件有關，還是由過敏或已有病症引起的。”

心理障礙綜合症發病率最高的人羣是受傷者、低收入人羣和西班牙籍研究志願者。總體來看，少數族羣、低收入者和婦女在9•11後患心理和生理疾病的比率普遍較高。

該研究由紐約市衛生署和聯邦疾病防控中心有毒物質與疾病登記處聯合開展，研究結果在《城市健康雜誌》上發表。