Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, Occupational Health, Outcomes & Safety / 30.04.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mishal Reja, MD,  MD Resident in Internal Medicine Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: World Trade Center first responders were exposed to environmental toxicants that have resulted in negative health consequences. Gastrointestinal aerodigestive disorders such as GERD and Barrett’s esophagus have been frequently reported in this population. Additionally, an increasing body of literature has shown that fatty liver disease is not only secondary to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and obesity, as previously thought, but can also result from environmental and industrial toxicants. Chemicals such as Vinyl Chloride, Tetrachloroethylene, Perchloroethylene, and many others are frequently found in industrial occupations and have resulted in fatty liver disease, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Many of these chemicals were also present at ground zero, thus exposing many of first responders to the hepatotoxic effects of these chemicals. To date this is the first study to look at liver disease in World Trade Center first responders. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, Occupational Health / 07.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rachel Zeig-Owens, Dr.P.H., MPH FDNY Research Assistant Professor Albert Einstein Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: We found that the most exposed members, those who arrived first at the World Trade Center (WTC ) site—when the air-borne dust was thickest—have a 44% increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to those who arrived later in the day. This is a level risk that was similar to other known risk factors for CVD.  (more…)