Study shows long-term 9/11 stress in lower Manhattan

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One in eight people who lived near the World Trade Center at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001 were still suffering post traumatic stress disorder two to three years later, a new study indicated on Friday.

The study, based on a 2003-2004 survey of 11,000 lower Manhattan residents, showed low-income and less educated people were more prone to PTSD, as were divorced people, with around one in five in those groups reporting symptoms.

Authors of the study called for further monitoring of PTSD victims from the neighborhood and the city urged them to take advantage of free mental health services.

The condition is an anxiety disorder sparked by traumatic experiences of intense fear, horror or hopelessness. Symptoms include irritability or anger, sleep difficulties, trouble concentrating, extreme vigilance, flashbacks and nightmares.

The New York City health department, which conducted the study, said it was the first to measure the attack's long-term effect on the mental health of the community.

It said it was now analyzing the results of a follow-up survey conducted six years after the 9/11 attacks and would release new health findings in the coming months.

The study published on Friday in the Journal of Traumatic Stress showed 12.6 percent of all respondents suffered PTSD in 2003-2004. Women were more likely to have PTSD, at 15 percent, compared to 10 percent of men.

One in five African Americans and nearly one in four Hispanics suffered PTSD, it showed, compared to 10.7 percent of white residents. People earning less than $25,000 a year showed a rate of nearly 20 percent.