Exploratory Case Study of Suicide among a Sample of 9/11 Survivors

Kacie Seil, Erin Takemoto, Mark R. Farfel, Mary Huynh and Jiehui Li
Additional contact information
Kacie Seil: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, Queens, NY 11101, USA
Erin Takemoto: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, Queens, NY 11101, USA
Mark R. Farfel: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, Queens, NY 11101, USA
Mary Huynh: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Vital Statistics, New York, NY 10013, USA
Jiehui Li: New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, Queens, NY 11101, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Background: Previous research has found higher than expected suicide mortality among rescue/recovery workers (RRWs) enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR). Whether any enrollee suicides are related to the decedents’ experiences on 9/11 is unknown. We abstracted medical examiner file data to learn more about 9/11-related circumstances of suicides among WTCHR enrollees. Methods: We identified 35 enrollee suicide cases that occurred in New York City using linked vital records data. We reviewed medical examiner files on each case, abstracting demographic and circumstantial data. We also reviewed survey data collected from each case at WTCHR enrollment (2003–2004) and available subsequent surveys to calculate descriptive statistics. Results: Cases were mostly non-Hispanic White (66%), male (83%), and middle-aged (median 58 years). Nineteen decedents (54%) were RRWs, and 32% of them worked at the WTC site for >90 days compared to 18% of the RRW group overall. In the medical examiner files of two cases, accounts from family mentioned 9/11-related circumstances, unprompted. All deaths occurred during 2004–2018, ranging from one to four cases per year. Leading mechanisms were hanging/suffocation (26%), firearm (23%), and jump from height (23%). Sixty percent of the cases had depression mentioned in the files, but none mentioned posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions: RRWs may be at particular risk for suicide, as those who worked at the WTC site for long periods appeared to be more likely to die by suicide than other RRWs. Mental health screening and treatment must continue to be prioritized for the 9/11-exposed population. More in-depth investigations of suicides can elucidate the ongoing impacts of 9/11.

Keywords: suicide; 9/11 disaster; World Trade Center; mortality; case study; data linkage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/57/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/57/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2021:i:1:p:57-:d:708226

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().