Dataset Information

Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Body Mass Index, Weight, and Height of Infants and Toddlers: An Infant Survey.

ABSTRACT: The body mass index (BMI) of preschool children from 4 years of age through primary school has increased since the Great East Japan Earthquake, but that of children aged under 3 years has not been studied. This study evaluated how the anthropometrics of younger children changed following the earthquake.Height and weight data of children living in northeast Japan were collected from 3-, 6-, 18-, and 42-month child health examinations. We compared the changes in BMI, weight, and height among infants affected by the earthquake between their 3- and 6-month health examinations, toddlers affected at 21-30 months of age (affected groups), and children who experienced the earthquake after their 42-month child health examination (unaffected group). A multilevel model was used to calculate the BMI at corresponding ages and to adjust for the actual age at the 3-month health examination, health examination interval, and gestational age.We recruited 8,479 boys and 8,218 girls living in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate Prefectures. In the infants affected between their 3- and 6-month health examinations in Fukushima, the change in BMI at 42 months of age was greater than among the unaffected children. In the toddlers affected at 21-30 months of age in Fukushima, the change in BMI was greater, but changes in weight and height were less.Affected infants and toddlers in Fukushima suggested some growth disturbances and early adiposity rebound, which can cause obesity. The future growth of children affected by disasters should be followed carefully.

SUBMITTER: Yokomichi H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5911674 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Body Mass Index, Weight, and Height of Infants and Toddlers: An Infant Survey.

Yokomichi Hiroshi H Matsubara Hiroko H Ishikuro Mami M Kikuya Masahiro M Isojima Tsuyoshi T Yokoya Susumu S Kato Noriko N Tanaka Toshiaki T Chida Shoichi S Ono Atsushi A Hosoya Mitsuaki M Tanaka Soichiro S Kuriyama Shinichi S Kure Shigeo S Yamagata Zentaro Z

Journal of epidemiology 20180113 5

<h4>Background</h4>The body mass index (BMI) of preschool children from 4 years of age through primary school has increased since the Great East Japan Earthquake, but that of children aged under 3 years has not been studied. This study evaluated how the anthropometrics of younger children changed following the earthquake.<h4>Methods</h4>Height and weight data of children living in northeast Japan were collected from 3-, 6-, 18-, and 42-month child health examinations. We compared the changes in ...[more]

PMID: 29332860

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Project description:To evaluate the impact of the 2011 great east Japan earthquake on body mass index (BMI) of preschool children.Retrospective cohort study and ecological study.Affected prefectures (Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate) and unaffected prefectures in northeast Japan.The cohort study assessed 2033 and 1707 boys and 1909 and 1658 girls in 3 affected prefectures and unaffected prefectures, respectively, all aged 3-4 years at the time of the earthquake. The ecological study examined random samples of schoolchildren from the affected prefectures.The cohort study compared postdisaster changes in BMIs and the prevalence of overweight and obese children. The ecological study evaluated postdisaster changes in the prevalence of overweight children.1 month after the earthquake, significantly increased BMIs were observed among girls (+0.087 kg/m(2) vs unaffected prefectures) in Fukushima and among boys and girls (+0.165 and +0.124 kg/m(2), respectively vs unaffected prefectures) in Iwate. 19 months after the earthquake, significantly increased BMIs were detected among boys and girls (+0.137 and +0.200 kg/m(2), respectively vs unaffected prefectures) in Fukushima, whereas significantly decreased BMIs were observed among boys and girls (-0.218 and -0.082 kg/m(2), respectively vs unaffected prefectures) in Miyagi. 1 month after the earthquake, Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate had a slightly increased prevalence of overweight boys, whereas Fukushima had a slightly decreased prevalence of overweight girls, compared with the unaffected prefectures. The ecological study detected increases in the prevalence of overweight boys and girls in Fukushima who were 6-11 and 6-10 years of age, respectively.These results suggest that in the affected prefectures, preschool children gained weight immediately after the earthquake. The long-term impact of the earthquake on early childhood growth was more variable among the affected prefectures, possibly as a result of different speeds of recovery.

Project description:Mental health is one of the most important issues facing disaster survivors. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and correlates of mental health problems in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami at 6-11 months after the disaster. The questionnaire and notification were sent to the survivors in three municipalities in the Tohoku area of the Northern part of Honshu, Japan's largest island, between September 2011 and February 2012. Questionnaires were sent to 12,772, 11,411, and 18,648 residents in the Yamada, Otsuchi, and Rikuzentakata municipalities, respectively. Residents were asked to bring the completed questionnaires to their health check-ups. A total of 11,124 or (26.0%) of them underwent health check-ups, and 10,198 were enrolled. We excluded 179 for whom a K6 score was missing and two who were both 17 years of age, which left 10,025 study participants (3,934 male and 6,091 female, mean age 61.0 years). K6 was used to measure mental health problems. The respondents were classified into moderate (5-12 of K6) and serious mental health problems (13+). A total of 42.6% of the respondents had moderate or serious mental health problems. Multivariate analysis showed that women were significantly associated with mental health problems. Other variables associated with mental health problems were: younger male, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of a social network. An interaction effect of sex and economic status on severe mental health problems was statistically significant. Our findings suggest that mental health problems were prevalent in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. For men and women, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of social network may be important risk factors of poor mental health. For men, interventions focusing on economic support may be particularly useful in reducing mental health problems after the disaster.

Dataset Information

Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Body Mass Index, Weight, and Height of Infants and Toddlers: An Infant Survey.

Publications

Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Body Mass Index, Weight, and Height of Infants and Toddlers: An Infant Survey.

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