Dataset Information

Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the 2011 Great Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Radiation Disaster on Elementary and Middle School Children in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred off of Japan's Pacific coast, which was followed by huge tsunamis that destroyed many coastal cities in the area. Due to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, malfunctions occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi (Fukushima I) nuclear power plant, resulting in the release of radioactive material in the region. While recent studies have investigated the effects of these events on the mental health of adults in the region, no studies have yet been performed investigating similar effects among children.

Methods and findings

This study aims to fill that gap by: 1) assessing the mental health of elementary and middle school children living within the Fukushima prefecture of Japan, and 2) identifying risk and protective factors that are associated with the children's mental health scores. These factors were quantified using an original demographics survey, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the latter two of which have been previously validated in a Japanese setting. The surveys were distributed to approximately 3,650 elementary and middle school students during the months of February and March, 2012. The data suggests that those children who had been relocated to the city of Koriyama had significantly higher SDQ scores than those children who were native to Koriyama (p < .05) as well as a control group that lived outside of the Fukushima prefecture (p < .01). Using a multivariate regression, we also found that younger age and parental trauma were significantly correlated with higher SDQ scores (p < .001), while gender, displacement from one's home, and exposure to violence were not.

Conclusions

These results suggest that, among children affected by natural disasters, younger children and those with parents suffering from trauma-related distress are particularly vulnerable to the onset of pediatric mental disturbances.

SUBMITTER: Lieber M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5242473 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the 2011 Great Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Radiation Disaster on Elementary and Middle School Children in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan.

Lieber Mark M

PloS one 20170118 1

<h4>Background</h4>On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred off of Japan's Pacific coast, which was followed by huge tsunamis that destroyed many coastal cities in the area. Due to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, malfunctions occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi (Fukushima I) nuclear power plant, resulting in the release of radioactive material in the region. While recent studies have investigated the effects of these events on the mental health of adults in the region, no stud ...[more]

PMID: 28099497

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Project description:Importance:Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represent 2 common mental health sequelae of natural disasters. However, to date, no studies have examined whether postdisaster depression and PTSD are associated with increased risk of mortality among community-dwelling survivors of natural disasters. Objective:To assess whether postdisaster depression and PTSD were associated with mortality in older disaster survivors. Design, Setting, and Participants:In this cohort study, prospective data were retrieved from older Japanese adults in Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, which was directly affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The baseline was established 7 months before the disaster (August 2010), and follow-up surveys were conducted approximately 2.5 years afterward (October 1, 2013, to January 31, 2014). Invitations were mailed to every citizen 65 years or older in Iwanuma City. Mortality data were obtained through March 4, 2017. Data analysis was performed from December 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. Exposures:Postdisaster depression (Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form score ?5) and PTSD (Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health PTSD subscale score ?4) were measured in 2013. Main Outcomes and Measures:Mortality data were obtained by linkage to the national long-term care insurance database. Cox proportional hazards regression models were adjusted for predisaster sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, social cohesion, predisaster depression, and disaster experiences. Results:The response rate for the baseline survey was 59.0% (5058 of 8567 individuals), and the follow-up rate was 82.1% (3594 of 4380 eligible respondents). A total of 2965 individuals (mean [SD] age, 73.4 [6.2] years; 1621 [54.7%] female) participated in the study. The mean (SD) follow-up since the 2013 survey was 3.3 (0.5) years. Overall, 974 (32.8%) reported postdisaster depression and 747 (25.2%) reported PTSD. In adjusted models, depression was associated with more than double the risk of mortality (hazard ratio, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.54-3.42); PTSD was not associated with increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.73-1.64). When evaluating the association of the 4-category comorbid depression and PTSD variable with mortality, survivors with depression only (HR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.43-3.49) as well as those with comorbid depression and PTSD (HR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.50-4.27) were at increased risk of death during the follow-up period compared with those with neither depression nor PTSD. Conclusions and Relevance:Depression, but not PTSD, was associated with mortality during 3.3 years of follow-up among older disaster survivors. These findings suggest that long-term mental health consequences of natural disasters may exist and that treating depression in older survivors of disasters may be beneficial.

Project description:Importance:The association of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster of March 11 and 12, 2011, in Fukushima, Japan, with birth rates has not been examined appropriately in the existing literature. Objective:To assess the midterm and long-term associations of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster with birth rates. Design, Setting, and Participants:Cohort study in which interrupted time series analyses were used to assess monthly changes in birth rates among residents of Fukushima City, Japan, from March 1, 2011, to December 31, 2017, relative to projected birth rates without the disaster based on predisaster trends. Birth rates from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2017, in Fukushima City were determined using information from the Fukushima City government office. Exposure:The Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, expressed via 5 potential models of the association with birth rate: level change, level and slope changes, temporal level change, and temporal level change with 1 or 2 slope change(s). Main Outcomes and Measures:Birth rate, calculated from monthly data on the number of births and total population. Results:The mean birth rate before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster was 69.8 per 100 000 people per month; after the disaster, the mean birth rate was 61.9 per 100 000 people per month. Compared with birth rates before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, there was an estimated 10% reduction in monthly birth rates in Fukushima City (rate ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.86-0.93) in the first 2 years after the disaster. After that, the birth rate trend was similar to the predisaster trend. The predisaster trend suggested a continuous decrease in birth rate (rate ratio for 1 year, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.98-0.99). This gap model was optimal and parsimonious compared with others. A similar association was found when trimonthly averaged data were analyzed. Conclusions and Relevance:The Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster were followed by significant reductions in birth rates for 2 years. There was insufficient evidence to indicate that the trend in the 3 to 7 years after the disaster differed from the predisaster trends. The recovery from the reductions in the birth rate may be indicative of the rebuilding efforts. The continuing long-term decrease in birth rates observed before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster suggests that continuing measures to support birth planning should be considered at the administrative level.

Dataset Information

Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the 2011 Great Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Radiation Disaster on Elementary and Middle School Children in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan.

Background

Methods and findings

Conclusions

Publications

Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the 2011 Great Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Radiation Disaster on Elementary and Middle School Children in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan.

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