Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Oct;54(10):1208-13.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e31826bb78e.

Longitudinal spirometry among patients in a treatment program for community members with World Trade Center-related illness

Mengling Liu  1 , Meng Qian, Qinyi Cheng, Kenneth I Berger, Yongzhao Shao, Meredith Turetz, Angeliki Kazeros, Sam Parsia, Roberta M Goldring, Caraleess Caplan-Shaw, Maria Elena Fernandez-Beros, Michael Marmor, Joan Reibman
Affiliations

Longitudinal spirometry among patients in a treatment program for community members with World Trade Center-related illness

Mengling Liu et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: The course of lung function in community members exposed to World Trade Center (WTC) dust and fumes remains undefined. We studied longitudinal spirometry among patients in the WTC Environmental Health Center (WTCEHC) treatment program.

Methods: Observational study of 946 WTCEHC patients with repeated spirometry measures analyzed on the population as a whole and stratified by smoking status, initial spirometry pattern, and WTC-related exposure category.

Results: Improvement in forced vital capacity (54.4 mL/yr; 95% confidence interval, 45.0 to 63.8) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (36.8 mL/yr; 95% confidence interval, 29.3 to 44.3) was noted for the population as a whole. Heavy smokers did not improve. Spirometry changes differed depending on initial spirometry pattern and exposure category.

Conclusion: These data demonstrate spirometry improvement in select populations suggesting reversibility in airway injury and reinforcing the importance of continued treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow diagram of patient identification for longitudinal analysis
Figure 2
Figure 2. Boxplots of spirometry parameters at last-visit for each lung function subgroup1
1Outlier data points more than 1.5 times the interquartile range from the box are not shown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lioy PJ, Georgopoulos P. The anatomy of the exposures that occurred around the World Trade Center site: 9/11 and beyond. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006;1076:54–79. - PubMed
    1. Lioy PJ, Weisel CP, Millette JR, et al. Characterization of the dust/smoke aerosol that settled east of the World Trade Center (WTC) in lower Manhattan after the collapse of the WTC 11 September 2001. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110:703–714. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yiin LM, Millette JR, Vette A, et al. Comparisons of the dust/smoke particulate that settled inside the surrounding buildings and outside on the streets of southern New York City after the collapse of the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2004;54:515–528. - PubMed
    1. Prezant DJ, Weiden M, Banauch GI, et al. Cough and bronchial responsiveness in firefighters at the World Trade Center site. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:806–815. - PubMed
    1. Prezant DJ, Levin S, Kelly KJ, Aldrich TK. Upper and lower respiratory diseases after occupational and environmental disasters. Mt Sinai J Med. 2008;75:89–100. - PubMed

Publication types