Cases of asthma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are rampant among people who experienced the 9/11 terrorist attacks first-hand, according to data from the World Trade Center Health Registry, released on Wednesday by the New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The report, published in the Journal of Urban Health, is based on an analysis of health of 71,437 individuals who experienced the coordinated suicide attacks. Their health will be followed for another 20 years, The Associated Press wrote on its Web site.

As stated by New York City health officials, an estimated 400,000 people have been seriously exposed to pollution from the September 11 attacks. Among them, 35,000 to 70,000 adults developed the anxiety disorder and 3,800 to 12,600 adults are thought to have developed the respiratory disease, asthma. The rates of physical and mental problems in women respondents, minorities and individuals with low wages are very high, The New York Times reported.

Among the people who were in close proximity to the Twin Towers around the time of the terrorist attacks, there were Manhattan inhabitants, commuters, rescue workers, recovery workers and passers-by.

"The consensus among physicians is that when it comes to physical health, the vast majority of people felt symptoms in the first year," asserted Lorna Thorpe, Ph.D. the deputy commissioner for epidemiology at the New York City Health Department. Nevertheless, a few people "developed symptoms years later. And in some cases, it's hard to tell whether they're World Trade Center-related or a result of allergies or existing conditions," she concluded.