Researchers have found a strong link between prolonged work at the World Trade Centre (WTC) site here following the 9/11 terror attacks and development of autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and lupus.
The risk of developing an autoimmune disease over the next decade increased by about 13 per cent for each month worked at the site, researchers said.
Investigators estimate that individuals worked 10 months at the site were more than 3-times as likely to develop an autoimmune disease than those who worked there for one month.
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"We believe that this is the first study to demonstrate that prolonged WTC-exposure is an important predictor of post-9/11 systemic autoimmune diseases," said Dr Mayris Webber, lead author of the study published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology.
"It is our hope that increased awareness of this association can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment," said Webber.
