# Development and implementation of a comparison occupational cohort for the WTC GRC

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $499,991

## Abstract

Project Summary
World Trade Center (WTC) first responders have suffered numerous diseases and conditions as a result of
their efforts on 9/11 and afterwards. For example, it has been noted that there are numerous cases of
aerodigestive disorders amongst the responders, including sinusitis, asthma, interstitial lung disease, and
gastroesophageal reflux. Similarly, there are reports of higher than expected rates of certain cancers, such as
multiple myeloma, prostate, and thyroid. Also reported are relatively high rates of post-traumatic stress
disorder, anxiety, depression, and sleep apnea. The commonality in these reports is the comparator groups
against which the data from the WTC General Responders Cohort (WTC-GRC) were measured. The
comparator groups were either national or local (e.g., the NY State Cancer Registry) and were composed of
members of the general population, not occupational groups. The purpose of this proposal is the development
of a unique occupational cohort, based in part on patients attending the Mount Sinai Selikoff Centers for
Occupational Health (SCOH), as well as workers presenting to other departments within Mount Sinai, and
workers recruited through outreach efforts. The reasoning is that for valid estimates of the health of the first
responders, comparisons must be against a working population and not the general population, which can lead
to intractable bias and faulty assessments.
The specific aims of the proposed project include: 1) converting existing SCOH data into a usable database for
comparative analyses of WTC-related health conditions; 2) building a new occupational cohort to serve as a
comparison in the longitudinal assessment of health in the WTC-GRC; and 3) utilizing the newly created
comparison cohort to determine if gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) incidence in the WTC-GRC differs
from an unexposed worker population.
The results of the proposed project will improve the quality of the health related studies being done by
providing a more appropriate comparison group that can be matched to responders on several important
characteristics, including occupation, age, sex and race/ethnicity. Such studies will result in improved
estimates of disease risk and add important knowledge to what we currently understand about exposure to
9/11 toxins and stressors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9934058
- **Project number:** 5U01OH011487-03
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** SUSAN L TEITELBAUM
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $499,991
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9934058

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9934058, Development and implementation of a comparison occupational cohort for the WTC GRC (5U01OH011487-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9934058. Licensed CC0.

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