Sixteen years after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers sent a “cloud” of toxic debris across Lower Manhattan, children living nearby who likely breathed in the ash and fumes are showing early signs of risk for future heart disease.
Sixteen years after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers sent a “cloud” of toxic debris across Lower Manhattan, children living nearby who likely breathed in the ash and fumes are showing early signs of risk for future heart disease.
This is the main finding of an analysis by NYU Langone Health researchers of blood tests of 308 children, 123 of whom may have come in direct contact with the dust on September 11, 2001. Researchers found that children with higher blood levels of the chemicals known to be in the dust had elevated levels of artery-hardening fats in their blood.
The scientists’ report appears online September 5 in the journal Environment International.
“Since 9/11, we have focused a lot of attention on the psychological and mental fallout from witnessing the tragedy, but only now are the potential physical consequences of being within the disaster zone itself becoming clear,” says study lead investigator and health epidemiologist Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, an associate professor at NYU School of Medicine.
Read more at: NYU Langone
