Meanwhile, only half of those in the WTC registry have filed followup surveys - which goes to tracking the overall health of the group and whether those on the registry are suffering in greater numbers than the general population. Accurate tracking is a key to epidemiological research:
Just half of the members of a registry tracking post-Sept. 11 health problems have filled out followup surveys a year after city officials began asking for them to get a complete picture of the long-term health effects of exposure to World Trade Center dust.UPDATE:
Since last June, 35,504 of the 71,437 people in the nation's largest health registry have filed followup reports, city officials said Monday. The response is critical to help track long-term effects of trade center exposure, health officials have said.
The city has published one report from the registry member surveys, matching several other studies that said a majority of people who worked or lived in and around the trade center had respiratory problems and psychological issues such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is planning other reports on specific diseases connected to exposure and is researching whether any deaths are related to trade center exposure.
A new coordinator of the WTC health registry has been announced.
The new coordinator, Jeffrey Hon, will advise the mayor on 9/11 health issues and oversee the way municipal pension programs respond to requests from employees who were exposed to the toxic dust. Mr. Hon, 53, was a spokesman for the American Red Cross September 11 Recovery Program, which provides financial assistance for mental and physical health care for those most directly affected by the attack. Yesterday, Mr. Bloomberg also named a 15-member panel to review findings on the effects of exposure at ground zero and the adequacy of medical services available to those exposed, The Associated Press reported. The panel includes representatives of Mount Sinai Medical Center and the city Fire Department.
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