A new study, “Post-9/11 sarcoidosis in WTC-exposed firefighters and emergency medical service workers” has been published in Respiratory Medicine, writes Ana Pamplona in Sarcoidosis News.
Sarcoidosis is a disease characterized by the appearance of clusters of granulomas, or inflamed cells, in the body, particularly affecting the lungs, eyes, lymph nodes, and skin. The disease has no cure, but many patients recover spontaneously. Others are ill for a long time and sarcoidosis can cause blindness or serious organ damage.
13,098 members of the FDNY who worked at the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks were evaluated in the study. The incidences of cases of sarcoidosis in the FDNY population were then compared with the incidence rate of sarcoidosis cases in the volunteers from Minnesota and Wisconsin of the Rochester Epidemiology Project.
There were 68 confirmed cases of post-9/11 sarcoidosis in the FDNY group, a much higher rate than that in the REP population.
