Children of 9/11 Ground Zero responders are suffering from intergenerational trauma similar to what's seen among the children of Holocaust survivors, according to recent research.

9/11 first responders still deal with significant mental and physical impairments.

The children of parents who died on 9/11 share their stories in remembrance

Many children of 9/11 victims were too young to remember their parents who died. They’ve grown up living with the tension between having a personal connection to the day but few, if any memories. Read some of their stories.

The toxic dust from 9/11 sites still claims lives decades later

In the years after 9/11, nearly 17,000 first responders enrolled in health programs have reported cancers and respiratory diseases linked to Ground Zero exposure. More have died from related illnesses than were killed on the day itself.

The 9/11 plane crashes, which resulted in the collapse of the Twin Towers, created toxic dust that included materials including asbestos, silica, metals, concrete, and glass.

Explore personal 9/11 oral histories from survivors, first responders, and families

The 9/11 Memorial Museum's archive includes over 3,500 firsthand interviews—spanning survivors, first responders, family members, and residents—offering rare, deeply personal perspectives on the tragedy and its aftermath.

What happened to thousands of teens from the 1990s?

Scientists followed thousands of teenagers from 1997 into their 30s, cataloging their adverse experiences along the way via nearly three decades of interviews. Teens who grew up dealing with poverty, uninvolved parents, and other childhood stressors and traumas racked up an ACE score. These adverse childhood experiences have lifelong impacts on one's health, relationships, financial security, and "pretty much everything else," making them more likely to suffer premature death.

Traumatic childhood experiences heighten the risk of developing schizophrenia

Clinically termed as "adverse childhood experiences," events such as physical or mental abuse or the death of loved ones have repeatedly been linked to an increase in rates of developing schizophrenia later in life. The reasons behind this link remain under investigation.

What 9/11 did to one family: the heartbreaking story of Bobby McIlvaine

Grief, conspiracy theories, and a family's search for meaning in the two decades since the attacks. On Sept. 11, 2001, Bobby McIlvaine was killed, along with nearly 3,000 other Americans. In the years since, his parents and brother have searched for...

Cancer rates are on the rise among GenXers and Millennials

Cancer rates are rising among Gen X and Millennials, with more cancer diagnoses being made in their 30s and 40s than previous generations. Factors such as prenatal exposures, environmental toxins, and lifestyle choices may contribute to this trend. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's experts discuss these issues, exploring how these insights could reshape cancer risk understanding.

343 members of the Fire Department of New York died on 9/11 trying to rescue people from the World Trade Center.

Prolonged Grief Disorder has certain recognizable risk factors

This official diagnosis is characterized by intense, daily symptoms of grief a year after the loss of a loved one among adults and faster—around at least six months—for kids and teens. Factors that put people at increased risk of this disorder include being single, attachment anxiety, violent or unnatural death, low education, low income, and multiple losses, among others.

How trauma gets ‘under the skin’

A study examining the muscle function of older adults who have at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) suggests that trauma digs itself into muscle cells. Participants who reported childhood trauma were found to have lower maximum levels of cellular energy than people who reported fewer or no ACEs. Such compromised mitochondrial function "doesn't bode well," as it relates to a variety of health and age-related outcomes.

Adults are developing food allergies that they didn’t have as children

Research published in 2019 found that almost half of 40,000 surveyed adults with food allergies developed a new food allergy as adults, underscoring that our immune systems may newly misclassify substances later in life.

They lost loved ones on 9/11. Hear the heart-wrenching voicemails they'd leave for them.

NPR set up an old phone booth in Brooklyn Bridge Park — across the river from the new World Trade Center — and invited people to leave a voicemail for someone they lost that day.

USA Today asked readers about their grief—and received more than 700 responses

The submissions included one moving story of two women whose sons died by drug overdose. The duo wrote that they found each other in a support group and decided to navigate their respective difficult situations by starting a podcast together called "Two Moms with Two Dead Kids," which focused on what life was like in the years following the deaths of their children.

View artifacts at the Smithsonian that tell the story of 9/11.

Women more likely than men to report strain of being a caregiver

A Pew Research Center caregiver analysis from 2026 indicates that, though men and women both say caring for aging parents improved their relationships with their parents, women are more likely than men to report that it had a negative impact on their emotional well-being and physical health.

Trauma is a primary risk factor for substance use disorder later in life

Studies indicate 75% of people with substance use disorder have experienced at least one traumatic experience in their life. These experiences alter brain function, leading to heightened stress and emotional pain. Substances offer temporary relief, but this often results in dependency.

Americans showed an unprecedented surge of patriotism after 9/11

In the weeks following 9/11, 79% of US adults reported displaying the American flag, and a year later, 62% said they "often felt patriotic" due to the attacks.

Heart attack risk jumps to 21 times its norm on the day of a loved one's death

Research published in 2012 suggests that the intense emotional burden of suffering a loved one's death can escalate heart rate, blood pressure, and clot risks—culminating in elevated heart attack risk. The increased heart attack risk remains after that first day, remaining eight times above normal during the first week, and then dropping down over the course of a month. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

An intense fear must persist for at least six months to be diagnosed as a phobia.

Risk factors linked with ASD include older parents, preterm births, and toxic prenatal exposures

Though researchers agree that there is a strong genetic component to ASD development, certain environmental factors heighten that risk, with studies suggesting older parents, premature birth, maternal obesity, and air pollution exposure in utero all elevate risks of ASD development. There is no connection between receiving vaccines and ASD development.

AP Photos: 20 images documenting the enormity of 9/11

The Associated Press shares 20 photographers’ frames from Sept. 11, 2001, when hijackers crashed commercial planes into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

What employers can do about parental stress

The US Surgeon General recently released a formal warning deeming parental stress a public health issue. The advisory also included recommendations for how employers can mitigate the issue. Employers can help their employees access child care, for instance, or provide flexible working hours. To find out more about what the Surgeon General prescribes, read more here.

Double rainbow appears in New York City on 9/11 anniversary

On the evening of the 9/11 anniversary in 2023, a double rainbow appeared after a thunderstorm across Manhattan, providing inspiration 22 years after the terrorist attacks there. Peruse several amateur images taken of the phenomenon which were shared on social media, including shots from up high in condos overlooking Central Park and from across the Hudson River in New Jersey.

One Day in America series reveals the full timeline and human toll of 9/11

This National Geographic episode reconstructs the events of 9/11—highlighting the Pentagon attack, Flight 93 hijacking, South Tower collapse, and rescue efforts—offering a detailed, chronological account of how the day unfolded.

Links between long-term caregiving and chronic stress

This Cleveland Clinic overview suggests that around 60% of people caring for family or loved ones with health conditions will experience burnout. Caregivers prepare meals, help with transportation, administer medications, and perform daily tasks for others, all while managing their own lives. This guide may help readers overcome the guilt or frustration of long-term caregiving to seek alternative options.

True crime survivors often deal with the fallout from their association long after the case is closed

Collier Landry was a preteen when he notified police and later testified that he had overheard his father killing his mother. His role in the case cost him his dog and adoptive sister, and, as recently as 2023, led his extended family to reject him.

Experience 9/11, the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, as it happened.

PTSD is a long-lasting mental disorder linked to past traumatic events

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition arising from traumatic events with four key symptoms: intrusive memories, avoidance behavior, negative moods and thoughts, and changes in emotional and physical reactions.

Some data links schizophrenia to older paternal age and birth complications

Yet both associations are not yet considered firm enough to definitively be causative. Schizophrenia is a multi-causal syndrome and a mixture of factors, including genetics, are widely believed to be behind its development.

How did the pandemic affect mental health?

Read this research brief to learn more about why heightened mental health and substance use concerns persist three years after the outbreak of COVID-19. According to a recent survey, the vast majority of American adults view the nation as facing a...

Alzheimer's as a family disease: When children become "parents"

Kitty Eisele's 81-year-old dad went missing while on a snowy, four-hour drive from Minneapolis to Iowa City. It was the first emergency that spelled out the danger of her dad's dementia diagnosis—and captures how Alzheimer's impacts entire families, with the influx of responsibility that comes with caregiving.

Watch New York City's Tribute in Light to the victims of 9/11

Tribute in Light is a commemorative public art installation first presented six months after 9/11 and then every year thereafter, from dusk to dawn, on the night of September 11. It has become an iconic symbol that both honors those killed and...

Emotional relationships with God affect grief

A study published in 2020 examined how internal, emotional relationships with God—rather than external characteristics of one's religiosity like weekly workshop attendance or attire—affected grief and adjustment among bereaved parents.

Exposure to ionizing radiation from nuclear accidents can damage DNA

The damage can increase the risks of cancer, cataracts, heart disease, and other illnesses based on exposure times and intensities. Contaminated food, water, air, or soil from near nuclear accidents can further prolong one's exposure.

The atomic bombs dropped on Japan had massive human costs

The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 killed around 210,000 people—more than 38,000 of them estimated to be children—with tens of thousands more later dying from radiation-linked illnesses, leaving lifelong trauma and increased cancer risks.

Watch a Yale University psychologist explain his new supportive parenting anxiety therapy.

Listen to storytellers explain the legacy of memories shared between children and their mothers

In this podcast, people describe the strength of certain memories, what events stay with them, and when and why grief washes over them. One describes the challenging task of selling her mother's cemetery plots; another, keeping a promise to her son to learn to swim; and in the third, a son discusses the strength of familiar food smells.

Grief rewires the human brain

The human brain handles stress and emotional traumas similarly. In response to the emotional stress of a situation like the death of a loved one, divorce, or abuse, the brain may strengthen or weaken connections between nerves to form new neural connections. Over time, chronic stress can diminish brainpower, reducing overall nerve growth and memory to shift resources to enable elevated fear responses and enable humans to survive.

One-third of kids with food allergies report being bullied because of it, surprising parents

Research published in 2021 surveyed how more than 100 kids with food allergies were treated by their peers. About one-third of the surveyed kids had their allergies used against them. Bullying tactics included that their allergens were sometimes intentionally put in their food or thrown at them. Parents usually had no idea this bullying was happening.

Nine eyewitness accounts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors

Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki became the first cities in history to be hit with nuclear weapons, where tens of thousands of civilians were killed nearly instantly. Hundreds of thousands of people who survived the bombings—referred to as hibakusha—dealt with wounds, radiation poisoning, and alienation from a society unable to process what had happened. This collection of accounts lets nine of those survivors speak, including one of the 165 survivors of both bombings.

A NYC church near ground zero became a 24/7 relief center for more than eight months without closing after the attacks, providing meals, beds, and other support to relief workers.

Nearly 42% of Gen Z workers have shared their salary with a coworker, compared to just 19% of Baby Boomers.

Extreme grief elevates cardiovascular risk and lowers immune system function

A 2014 analysis of cardiovascular risk and bereavement after a lost partner found that grief elevates the risk of stroke and heart attack for the 30 days following death of a partner and the risk then attenuates after that.

Our ancient fight-or-flight response may contribute to modern ailments

Many common modern diseases humans struggle with may in fact have their origins in our ancient fight-or-flight stress response. Long-term effects of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline—in this case, triggered by things like workplace stressors—can wreak havoc on the delicate internal balance of our organ systems.

9/11 was the first global disaster watched in real time across the world

As the first plane struck at 8:46 a.m. ET, CNN's live feed broadcast images worldwide within minutes. An estimated 2 billion people watched the collapse of the Twin Towers live.

About 1,200 'grandmothers' returned to their homes after the Chernobyl disaster

After the evacuation of the Exclusion Zone, about 1,200 mostly elderly women illegally went back to their ancestral villages and became known as the "babushkas of Chernobyl." Some have described the trauma of permanent relocation as less tolerable than potential radiation risks.

How NATO responded to 9/11

The collective defense clause of the NATO constitution has only been invoked one time: after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. This video explores the immediate actions NATO took to respond to the attacks to support the United States. These firsthand clips from 2001 give a sense of the magnitude of the moment and the difficult decisions facing NATO leaders at the time.

Some vacationers flock to the sites of tragedies

Auschwitz, Chernobyl, Gettysburg, and more have all become tourist destinations, despite the horrible events that have occurred at the sites. The phenomenon is sometimes called "dark tourism," a trend that seems to be spurred by interest in history, morbid curiosity, and popular culture (like HBO's series "Chernobyl").