New York: Sixteen years after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers sent a "cloud" of toxic debris across Lower Manhattan, children living nearby who breathed in the ash and fumes are showing early signs of risk for heart disease, a study says.
"Since 9/11, we have focused a lot of attention on the psychological and mental fallout from witnessing the tragedy, but only now are the potential physical consequences of being within the disaster zone itself becoming clear," said study lead investigator Leonardo Trasande, Associate Professor at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine.
Children with higher blood levels of the chemicals known to be in the dust had elevated levels of artery-hardening fats in their blood, showed the findings published online in the journal Environment International.
These include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), widely used to make plastics more flexible until its health effects, including lower-than-normal birthweights and brain damage, led US manufacturers to stop using it in 2014.
Among the latest study's results was that roughly every threefold increase in blood PFOA levels was tied to an average nine per cent to 15 per cent increase in blood fats.
Fortunately, these very early signs of cardiovascular risk can generally be addressed by diet, weight control, and exercise, Trasande said.
"Since 9/11, we have focused a lot of attention on the psychological and mental fallout from witnessing the tragedy, but only now are the potential physical consequences of being within the disaster zone itself becoming clear," said study lead investigator Leonardo Trasande, Associate Professor at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine.
Children with higher blood levels of the chemicals known to be in the dust had elevated levels of artery-hardening fats in their blood, showed the findings published online in the journal Environment International.
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These include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), widely used to make plastics more flexible until its health effects, including lower-than-normal birthweights and brain damage, led US manufacturers to stop using it in 2014.
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Among the latest study's results was that roughly every threefold increase in blood PFOA levels was tied to an average nine per cent to 15 per cent increase in blood fats.
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Fortunately, these very early signs of cardiovascular risk can generally be addressed by diet, weight control, and exercise, Trasande said.
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