Author(s)
Catherine Yu, BA
Horacio Romero Castillo, MA
Mathilda Alsen, MPH
Kalena Liu, BS
Maaike van Gerwen, MD PhD
Affiliation(s)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Abstract:
Educational Objective: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participants should be able to assess the prevalence of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) in patients with World Trade Center (WTC) exposure and the initial symptoms or medical history associated with this diagnosis.
Objectives: To assess larynx related diagnoses of WTC exposed patients presenting to the department of otolaryngology of a major metropolitan health system.
Study Design: This retrospective review includes patients who had the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) listed as the payer for received medical service and were seen in the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery of a major metropolitan health system between January 1, 2010, and May 31, 2022.
Methods: Medical charts were retrospectively reviewed and data analysis was completed in Microsoft Excel version 16.54.
Results: From 2010 through May 2022, 3118 WTC exposed patients presented to our department. A subset of 1000 patients was characterized in this preliminary study. The mean age on September 1, 2001, was 39 years. The study population was predominantly male (79.0%) and most participants were never smokers (60.9%). Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) was diagnosed in 29.5% of the study population. 17.3% of LPR patients reported reflux symptoms, including difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, and sore throat. Men did not have a higher odds of being diagnosed with LPR than women (OR 0.79; 95% CI, 0.58 to 1.08). A previously diagnosed comorbidity of GERD (OR 1.14; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.50) or asthma (OR 0.89; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.17) was not associated with higher odds of being diagnosed with LPR.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first report of larynx specific complaints of WTC exposed patients in a major metropolitan health system. Future studies are needed to investigate any causal link between WTC exposure and the development of LPR and associated diagnoses.