More People Went to Doctors after 9/11

Ivanhoe Newswire
Monday, September 11, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Healthcare claims from men and women living within 10 miles of the World Trade Centers dropped immediately after the 2001 attacks. Three weeks later, however, the number seeking care for stress-related conditions was higher than normal, reveals a new study.

Conditions like ulcers, fainting, rashes, irregular heart beats and chest pains can all be caused by a reaction to a catastrophic event. Researchers from Emory University in Atlanta wanted to know what kind of healthcare usage pattern to expect from disasters in the future.

Researchers report in the first three weeks after the attacks fewer people sought treatment than normal. "This decline was probable related to the disruption in access to health care services or transportation, particularly for those living closes to the World Trade Centers," says James W. Buehler, M.D., a research professor at the Center for Public Health Preparedness and Research and Department of Epidemiology at Emory. Other theories for the decline include people putting off healthcare because of more pressing concerns, or the delay between being stressed and feeling it physically.

After the decline, the greatest increases in healthcare usage were among those living within 10 miles. Visits for ulcers rose by 21 percent and care for fainting rose 43 percent, report the researchers. The overall number of office visits was 200,000 more than expected between October 2001 and March 2002.

The researchers say they hope this data will help the government if another attack were to happen in the United States.

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SOURCE: Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, 2006;4:263-275