“Truth in Medicine” Poll: 25 Years After the 9/11 Attacks, Many New Yorkers Say the Emotional Impact Is “Still Raw”

"Truth in Medicine" Poll: 25 Years After the 9/11 Attacks, Many New Yorkers Say the Emotional Impact Is "Still Raw"

One-quarter of respondents report trauma or mental health disorders related to 9/11; 66 percent of respondents say 9/11 permanently changed their daily lives; 77 percent of respondents say 9/11 history should be taught in schools nationwide

Twenty-five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a majority of poll respondents say the emotional impact remains vivid and "still raw," according to the latest Mount Sinai South Nassau "Truth in Medicine" poll.

Among poll respondents in New York City and on Long Island who were 21 or older at the time of the attack, 73 percent say the 9/11 tragedy remains vivid, with 34 percent saying it feels like "it happened just yesterday" and 39 percent agreeing that while it occurred a quarter-century ago, they feel the impact every day.

Meanwhile, a strong majority (77 percent) say schools should be required to teach students about 9/11 and its ramifications, and 87 percent of respondents said the federal government should continue to fund a program that provides no-cost medical monitoring and treatment to those with certifiable 9/11-related health conditions.

"Twenty-five years later, the trauma of 9/11 continues to have significant long-term physical and mental health impacts on our community," said Joshua Kugler, MD, MHCM, Interim President, Mount Sinai South Nassau. "We must continue our advocacy and support for our friends, first responders, and neighbors who are still experiencing the physical and mental health impact of the day that changed our world forever."

The "Truth in Medicine" poll, sponsored by FourLeaf, is the only hospital-based public health poll in the metro area that seeks to gauge public opinion on important health-related topics and spur discussion and education around those issues.

The poll of 600 adults age 30 and older in New York City and on Long Island was conducted by LJR Custom Strategies, a national independent pollster, from August 5-10 via both landlines and cellphones. Poll findings have a sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.

Additional noteworthy "Truth in Medicine" poll findings include:

• Most respondents believe the United States is less safe today than before 9/11 (27 percent say it is somewhat less safe, and 33 percent say it is much less safe).
  
• About two-thirds of poll respondents believe that the spirit of unity that the country felt after 9/11 has dissipated. These respondents see the country as more divided; 33 percent say unity is entirely gone, while 35 percent say the country can still unite in the face of a major crisis despite its divisions.
• On the education issue, most respondents say the themes schools should teach include: the power of national unity; volunteering and resilience; the evil of global terrorism and what drives terrorists; the historical timeline and political ramifications of the attacks; and the heroism of first responders and everyday citizens.
  

More than 75 percent of respondents age 46 and older today (meaning they were 21 or older at the time of 9/11) are still feeling the impact of the terror attacks a quarter-century later.

For those with a direct connection to 9/11, the psychological impact can be especially profound. Twenty-five percent of respondents say they still experience trauma or mental health disorders stemming from the attacks. Twenty-four percent say that a member of their immediate family experiences trauma-related effects from the events of 9/11. First-responder families and people who lost someone they knew report even higher rates of trauma and mental health challenges.

More than one-third (35 percent) say they were, or a family member was, in the immediate area surrounding the World Trade Center. Forty-one percent of all respondents say they or an immediate family member were directly impacted by 9/11.

Metro area poll respondents who had a family member in the immediate area of the World Trade Center, served as a first responder, or knew someone who was killed (or a combination of these circumstances) reported the greatest impact from 9/11.

Almost two-thirds of respondents who were age 21 or older at the time say they have a clear memory of that tragic day. Similarly, more than 75 percent of respondents age 46 and older say they "still feel the impact of 9/11 daily."

This contrasts with poll respondents who were younger than 21 at the time of 9/11, two-thirds of whom said, "9/11 is a vague memory" or "they don't remember it at all." In addition, 57 percent of respondents who are ages 30-45 today (ages 5-20 on September 11, 2001) agreed that "9/11 is a distant event that does not affect their daily lives."

Through family, friends, or neighbors, many poll respondents know a first responder or individual affected, injured, or killed on 9/11, with 23 percent of all respondents saying that they know someone who was killed on 9/11. That figure nearly triples to 65 percent among respondents from first-responder households.

Respondents who experienced trauma or mental health disorders associated with the attacks were also likely to have a family member who was affected. Among respondents in families affected by 9/11-related trauma, 55 percent know someone who was killed in the attacks, 25 percent report trauma or mental health disorders linked to 9/11, and 24 percent say that a member of their immediate family experiences trauma-related effects. Of those who suffer trauma and other mental health disorders, 27 percent are from first responder households.

"This poll confirms the life-altering impact that an unfathomable, heinous tragedy like 9/11 can have on everybody, whether they are first responders, survivors, family members, or local residents," said Michael A. Crane, MD, MPH, Medical Director of the WTC Health Program CCE at Mount Sinai and a prominent internal medicine specialist and Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "In our Program, which focuses on caring for responders, it is essential that we continue to provide them with the proper treatment that will assist with mental, emotional, and physical healing."

Mount Sinai in Manhattan is home to the largest World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence (CCE) in the New York/New Jersey region. If you, a loved one, or a friend needs help for mental health symptoms related to 9/11, call the Center at 888-702-0630. The Program's team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers offer comprehensive mental health evaluations and treatment to patients, including law enforcement personnel, emergency medical workers, construction workers and ironworkers, asbestos handlers, and other responders. The Program's social workers assess overall well-being and provide basic benefits-related services. For more information visit https://www.mountsinai.org/care/occupational-health/wtc.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum provides educational programs for teachers and students, including a free 9/11 anniversary learning experience.

"It is essential that we remember the sacrifices and lives lost, the grief of those who lost loved ones, and the examples of courage, selflessness, compassion, and resilience from that horrible day," said Linda Armyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of FourLeaf. "We must continue to teach and learn from history, so it does not continue to repeat itself."

This is the 30th "Truth in Medicine" Poll and the second poll of 2026. The poll is part of Mount Sinai South Nassau's mission of outreach to improve education around critical public health issues. Sponsored by FourLeaf, the Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll aims to gather data about public attitudes on key public health topics and spur education and discussion.

Mount Sinai South Nassau began conducting the public health poll in January 2017. Previous polls have focused on the use of wearable health devices to maintain health and wellness, alcohol consumption and its association with cancer risk, cellphone use in schools, mental health services, holiday stress, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, legalization of recreational marijuana, supplements, antibiotic use and misuse, and screen time, among others. For more information about the polls, visit www.southnassau.org/sn/truth-in-medicine.

About Mount Sinai South Nassau
The Long Island flagship hospital of the Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai South Nassau is designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for outstanding nursing care. Mount Sinai South Nassau is one of the region's largest hospitals, with 455 beds, more than nine hundred physicians and 3,500 employees. Located in Oceanside, New York, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health, and emergency services and operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County, along with Long Island's only free-standing Emergency Department in Long Beach.

In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, Mount Sinai South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and offers Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies. Mount Sinai South Nassau operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County verified by the American College of Surgeons as well as Long Island's only free-standing, 9-1-1 receiving Emergency Department in Long Beach. Mount Sinai South Nassau also is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons; is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program; and an Infectious Diseases Society of America Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence. For more information, go to www.mountsinai.org/southnassau.