Headaches, abortions, changes in the brain, increased general sensitivity to fear, lung problems … These are some of the lesser-known medical consequences of the terrorist attack that on September 11, 2001, plunged the city of New York (USA). The collapse of the buildings caused the expansion of a toxic cloud and the numerous fires released high levels of dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons harmful to health. This situation caused a series of consequences in the inhabitants of New York and the workers who were exposed to Ground Zero that persist years later.
These are some of the lesser-known consequences of the terrible attack.
Less children.A study by the University of California (USA) revealed that,Due to the stress caused by the psychological shock of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the number of male abortions increasedconsiderably in fall 2001, and in December of that year far fewer boys were born than girls. As published by the authors in the magazineBMC Public HealthIn many species, periods of stress reduce the number of male offspring that are born.
HeadachesWorkers and residents of Ground Zero exposed to the dust and gases produced by the collapse of theWorld Trade Centerin September 2001suffered more headaches in subsequent yearsaccording to a study carried out by Sara Crystal of New York University. The people caught in the initial dust cloud have suffered the most headaches since then.
Firemen.Cases of sarcoidosis, a type of inflammatory disease of unknown origin that affects 90% of the lung, increased dramatically in the years following 9/11among the firefighters who intervened at Ground Zero, according to a study by the Albert Einstein School of Medicine and New York University published in the medical journalChest in 2007.
Afraid.Traumas like those of 9/11 cause the brain, specifically a region known as the amygdala,become more sensitive to fear, even for healthy people who lived hundreds of miles from the tragedy, according to a Cornell University study published in the journalEmotion. In a series of experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers found thatthe brain reaction was more intense than usual in hundreds of subjects when they were shown the faces of scared people. None of the subjects suffered from psychiatric problems.
Shrunken brain.The amount of gray matter in the brain centers that regulate emotionswas greatly reduced in adults who were close toofWorld Trade Centerduring the terrorist attack, according to a study published in the specialized magazineNeuroimagen in April 2008. The decrease in the volume of gray matter could bea normal brain response to traumaas concluded by Barbara Ganzel, co-author of the work.
