Study finds increased asthma rates among 9/11 kids

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2007

NEW YORK (AFP) — Children exposed to the dust of the collapsed World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks on New York in 2001 are twice as likely to have asthma as other children, health officials said Wednesday.

The findings by the New York City health department reflect similar studies on asthma in adults caught up in the tragedy.

According to the survey, half of 3,100 children enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry had developed at least one new or worsened respiratory symptom between the attacks and their interviews in 2003 and 2004.

The registry was set up in 2003 to track the health of rescue workers, New York residents and office workers affected by the attacks.

"Children exposed to the dust cloud following the collapse of...