Heart and diabetes risks after 9/11 exposure in World Trade Center responders
Official title: Cardiometabolic diseases in the World Trade Center general responder cohort and the role of subsequent environmental exposures
Funded at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NIH-11222288 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether people who worked, lived, or cleaned up near the World Trade Center after 9/11 have higher chances of heart disease and diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | December 12, 2022 |
| Project end | October 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $474,332 |
| NIH project number | 5R01ES034864-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11222288 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people enrolled in the WTCHP General Responder Cohort—residents, first responders, or cleanup workers who were exposed around the World Trade Center and have follow-up exams in the WTCHP.
✕Less likely to help
People without WTC exposure or who are not enrolled in the WTCHP cohort are unlikely to be impacted directly by this project.
What this research studies
I would be part of a large group of World Trade Center responders whose health records, lab tests, and exposure questionnaires collected over 20 years will be analyzed. The team will use the WTCHP General Responder Cohort data held at Mount Sinai, which includes regular physical exams and blood tests from over 43,000 responders. Researchers will link the types and timing of environmental exposures after 9/11 to later development of heart attacks, diabetes, and related cardiometabolic conditions. The work will look at whether later or ongoing environmental exposures changed risks and who may be most affected.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If the findings show a clear link, responders with heart disease or diabetes might get recognition as 9/11-related conditions and better access to care and benefits.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has strongly linked 9/11 exposure to respiratory problems and some cancers, but links to heart attacks and diabetes are less well established, so this work builds on limited prior evidence and is partly novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yitshak Sade, Maayan — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Yitshak Sade, Maayan
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Cardiometabolic Health in World Trade Center Responders and How Exposures Help Shape It
This project looks at how surviving the World Trade Center cleanup exposure might influence long-term heart and metabolic health in responders.
-
Food is Medicine programs to improve diet and reduce cardiometabolic diseases
A health study from Tufts University is testing how adding medically tailored meals and food-based prescriptions within healthcare can improve diet and lower cardiometabolic disease risk.
-
Tulane program to accelerate clinical research on heart and metabolic diseases
A funded program at Tulane supports teams researching heart and metabolic diseases to speed up translating discoveries into better patient care.
-
Gut microbiome and heart/metabolic disease influence
A large NIH grant is exploring how gut bacteria affect common heart and metabolic diseases and how we might use that knowledge to improve health.
-
Fat-linked amino acids and fatty liver with heart disease risk
This work looks at whether changes in fat-linked amino acids made in the liver are tied to fatty liver disease and a higher risk of clogged arteries.
-
Macrophage roles in heart disease and fat-related conditions
A multi-project program looks at how immune cells called macrophages contribute to heart disease, obesity, and fatty liver, with the aim of finding new ways to prevent and treat these conditions.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.