Longitudinal study of the impact of psychological distress symptoms on new-onset upper gastrointestinal symptoms in World Trade Center responders.

Objectives: Research on the health of workers involved in the cleanup after the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, has documented high rates of psychological distress and upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The current article examines the concurrent and longitudinal associations of psychological distress with development of new-onset upper GI symptoms in a large sample of WTC responders.

Methods: A cohort of 10,953 WTC responders monitored by the WTC Health Program participated in the study.