New-Onset Headaches Increase in the Aftermath of World Trade Center Attacks

Using interviews with 646 consecutive patients enrolled in the Bellevue Hospital WTC Environmental Health Center between March 2005 and March 2009, the researchers documented exposure to dust and fumes resulting from the terror attacks. Participants also completed questionnaires so that the investigators could document PTSD (per the PTSD Checklist), anxiety and depression symptoms (the Hopkins Anxiety and Depression Scales), and the new onset of headache after September 11, 2001.

About 44% of patients reported a new headache, and 43% reported headaches in the four weeks preceding study enrollment. About 55% of subjects had been exposed to the dust cloud. “Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and probable PTSD were strongly associated with headache after 9/11,” reported Dr. Henry. “Headache after 9/11 and probable PTSD were also associated with exposure to the initial dust cloud on 9/11.

“Prospective studies are warranted to better understand the interplay between headache, mental health symptoms, and dust/fume exposure,” Dr. Henry concluded.