Mediation of the relationship between home loss and worsened cardiometabolic profiles of older disaster survivors by post-disaster relocation: A natural experiment from the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Shiba K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7686264 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:We investigated the association between disaster experience and the cardiometabolic risk of survivors 2.5 years after disaster onset, adjusting for health information predating the disaster, using natural experiment data stemming from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. We used data from a cohort of adults aged 65 years or older in Iwanuma City, Japan, located 80 km (128 miles) west of the earthquake epicenter. The baseline survey was completed 7 months before the disaster, and the follow-up survey was performed among survivors approximately 2.5 years after the disaster. The survey data were linked to medical records with information on objectively measured cardiometabolic risk factors (n = 1,195). The exposure of interest was traumatic disaster experiences (i.e., housing damage and loss of loved ones). Fixed-effects regression showed that complete housing destruction was significantly associated with a 0.81-unit greater change in body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.24, 1.38), a 4.26-cm greater change in waist circumference (95% CI: 1.12, 7.41), and a 4.77-mg/dL lower change in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (95% CI: -7.96, -1.58) as compared with no housing damage. We also observed a significant association between major housing damage and decreased systolic blood pressure. Continued health checkups and supports for victims who lost homes should be considered to maintain their cardiometabolic health.
| S-EPMC7301774 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Social connections in the community ("social capital") represent an important source of resilience in the aftermath of major disasters. However, little is known about how residential relocation due to housing destruction affects survivors' social capital. We examined changes in social capital among survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. People who lost their homes were resettled to new locations by two primary means: (i) group relocation to public temporary trailer housing or (ii) individual relocation, in which victims moved into government-provided housing by lottery or arranged for their own accommodation (market rental housing or private purchase/new construction). The baseline for our natural experiment was established 7 months before the 11 March 2011 disaster, when we conducted a survey of older community-dwelling adults who lived 80-km west of the earthquake epicenter. Approximately 2.5 years after the disaster, the follow-up survey gathered information about personal experiences of disaster as well as health status and social capital. Among 3421 people in our study, 79 people moved via group relocation to public temporary trailer housing, whereas 96 people moved on their own. The individual fixed-effects model showed that group relocation was associated with improved informal socializing and social participation (? coefficient = 0.053, 95% confidence interval: 0.011 to 0.095). In contrast, individual relocation was associated with declining informal socializing and social participation (? coefficient = -0.039, 95% confidence interval: -0.074 to -0.003). Group relocation, as compared to individual relocation, appeared to preserve social participation and informal socializing in the community.
| S-EPMC5529061 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Study Objectives:To examine prospectively the associations of disaster experiences and social support with sleep problems in older adults. Methods:Data came from a natural experiment caused by the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. Participants in an ongoing prospective cohort (3547 Japanese individuals aged 65 years or older) were inadvertently exposed to the disaster due to their residential location (Iwanuma city) after the 2010 baseline survey. We conducted a follow-up survey in 2013 to inquire about disaster-related experiences and short sleep duration, sleep insufficiency, poor sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and sleep medication use. Poisson regression models adjusted for baseline socio-demographic and lifestyle covariates. Results:Financial hardship predicted increased risks of short sleep duration (relative risk [RR] = 1.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.03, 1.90]), sleep insufficiency (RR = 1.29; 95% CI [1.01, 1.66]), poor sleep quality (RR = 1.47; 95% CI [1.26, 1.70]), and insomnia symptoms (RR = 1.13; 95% CI [1.01, 1.28]). Home destruction predicted sleep medication use while health care disruption predicted poor sleep quality. Loss of close relatives or friends did not predict any sustained sleep problems. Additionally, having instrumental support reduced risks of all sleep problems while having emotional support reduced risk of poor sleep quality. Conclusions:Approximately 2.5 years after the disaster, older survivors' sleep problems were more durably linked to material aspects of disaster damage than to loss of loved ones. Findings could inform targeted recovery efforts for groups with greatest need to promote older survivors' sleep health and overall well-being.
| S-EPMC6047443 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of this study is to determine changes in atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk factors with and without serious disaster-related mental and socioeconomic problems represented by relocation (REL).A longitudinal survey.Multiphasic health check-ups for the general population affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.A total 6528 disaster survivors in heavily tsunami-damaged municipalities were recruited. Two sequential surveys were conducted and the data were analysed.Multiphasic health check-ups including investigation of lifestyle and psychological and socioeconomic measures were performed in two sequential phases (8 and 18 months) after the disaster for tsunami survivors with REL (n=3160) and without REL (n=3368). Longitudinal changes in cardiometabolic risk factors between the two phases were compared in the REL and non-REL groups.In sex/age-adjusted analysis, we found increases in body weight and waist circumference between the two phases that were significantly greater in the REL group than in the non-REL group (body weight:+0.31 (0.23∼0.39) versus -0.24 (-0.32∼-0.16) kg, p<0.001; waist circumference:+0.58 (0.48∼0.68) versus+0.05 (-0.05∼0.15) cm, p<0.001)). A decrease in serum HDLC levels was found and again was significantly greater in the REL group than in the non-REL group (-0.65 (-0.96∼-0.34) versus -0.09 (-0.39∼0.21) mg/dL, p=0.009). In addition, deterioration in physical activity, mental health and socioeconomic status was more prevalent in the REL group than in the non-REL group (all p<0.001).This study suggests that relocation after the devastating tsunami was related to weight gain and decreasing HDLC among survivors, and this change was associated with prolonged psychological distress and socioeconomic problems after the disaster.
| S-EPMC4874105 | biostudies-other
Project description:Natural disasters are often associated with forced residential relocation, thereby affected people experience a change of food environment that results in the increased body mass index. However, there are a few studies that examined whether a change in food environment caused risk of obesity after a natural disaster. To address this question, we leveraged a natural experiment of residential relocation in the aftermath of the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Our baseline data came from a nationwide cohort study of older community-dwelling adults conducted 7 months prior to the disaster. By chance, one of the field sites (Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture) was directly in the line of the tsunami. Approximately 2.5 years after the disaster, we ascertained the residential addresses and health status of 3,594 survivors aged 65 years or older (82.1% follow-up rate). Fixed effects multinomial logistic regression showed that shortened distances to food outlets/bars increased the risks of transitioning from BMI in the normal range (18.5-22.9) to obesity (?25.0) (Odds ratios: 1.46 for supermarkets; 1.43 for bars; 1.44 times for fast food outlets). Radically changed food access after a natural disaster may raise the risk of obesity among older survivors.
| S-EPMC6344590 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceTrust is a core component of social cohesion, facilitating cooperation and collective action in the face of adversity and enabling survivors to remain resilient. Residential stability is an important prerequisite of developing trusting relations among community members. However, little is known about whether the movement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) after a disaster might change community relations.ObjectiveWe explored perceived changes in trust within 1 community directly impacted by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.Design, setting, and participantsThis prospective cohort study examined survey data from 3594 residents of Iwanuma City, Japan, aged 65 years or older. Data were obtained from the Iwanuma Study-part of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a nationwide cohort study established in 2010-approximately 7 months before the disaster. All Iwanuma City residents age 65 years or older (8576 residents) were eligible to participate in 2010. The response rate was 59.0% (5058 residents). A follow-up survey was conducted in 2013, approximately 2.5 years after the disaster. Of the 4380 remaining participants who answered the baseline survey, 3594 were recontacted (follow-up rate, 82.1%). Data analysis was performed from July 1, 2019, to January 9, 2020.ExposuresThe number of temporarily relocated Iwanuma City survivors within 100 m and 250 m of a nonrelocated resident's home address.Main outcomes and measuresPerceived changes in particularized trust (ie, trusting people from the same community) and generalized trust (trusting people from other communities) measured on a 5-point Likert scale.ResultsAmong 3250 nonrelocated residents (1808 [55.6%] women; mean [SD] age, 76.5 [6.2] years) of Iwanuma City included in the analytic sample, multivariable-adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses found that each standard deviation increase in the influx of internally displaced persons (1 SD = 11 IDPs) within 250 m of a resident's home address was associated with higher odds of a decrease in the resident's particularized and generalized trust (odds ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.04-1.32).Conclusions and relevanceThe influx of IDPs in the host community appeared to be associated with an erosion of trust among locals. To avoid the erosion of social cohesion after a disaster, it may be crucial to provide opportunities for social interaction between old and new residents of communities.
| S-EPMC7645695 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We examined prospectively whether social capital mitigates the adverse effects of natural disaster on cognitive decline.The baseline for our study was established seven months before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in a survey of older community-dwelling adults who lived 80 kilometers west of the epicenter (59.0% response rate). Approximately two and a half years after the disaster, the follow-up survey gathered information about personal experiences of disaster as well as incidence of cognitive disability (82.1% follow-up rate). Our primary outcome was cognitive disability (measured on an 8-level scale) assessed by in-home assessment.The experience of housing damage was associated with risk of cognitive impairment (coefficient = 0.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.02 to 0.06). Factor analysis of our analytic sample (n = 3,566) established two sub-scales of social capital: a cognitive dimension (perceptions of community social cohesion) and a structural dimension (informal socializing and social participation). Fixed effects regression showed that informal socializing and social participation buffered the risk of cognitive decline resulting from housing damage.Informal socializing and social participation may prevent cognitive impairment following natural disaster.National Institutes of Health (R01AG042463-04), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
| S-EPMC5801543 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We examined whether pre-disaster social support functions as a disaster preparedness resource to mitigate post-disaster depressive symptoms among older survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. The participants were 3,567 individuals aged ≥65 years living in Iwanuma city who completed a baseline survey as part of the nationwide Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study seven months before the disaster. A follow-up survey was administered approximately 2.5 years after the disaster. The analysis included a total of 2,293 participants, and social support (giving and receiving emotional & instrumental help) before the disaster was measured using four items. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the GDS with a cut-off score of 4/5 (not depressed/depressed). We discovered that participants who gave and received emotional and instrumental support before the disaster were significantly less likely to develop depressive symptoms after the disaster compared to those without support (ARR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.56-0.88). The risk of the onset of depressive symptoms was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.03-1.74) among those who experienced disaster damages but had also given and received social support, and 1.70 (95% CI: 1.03-2.76) among those who experienced damages but lacked support. Strengthening social aid may help cultivate psychological resilience to disasters.
| S-EPMC6923367 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In 2011, 2012, and 2013, in the intertidal zones of eastern Japan, we investigated the ecological effects of the severe accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that accompanied the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The number of intertidal species decreased significantly with decreasing distance from the power plant, and no rock shell (Thais clavigera) specimens were collected near the plant, from Hirono to Futaba Beach (a distance of approximately 30 km) in 2012. The collection of rock shell specimens at many other sites hit by the tsunami suggests that the absence of rock shells around the plant in 2012 might have been caused by the nuclear accident in 2011. Quantitative surveys in 2013 showed that the number of species and population densities in the intertidal zones were much lower at sites near, or within several kilometers south of, the plant than at other sites and lower than in 1995, especially in the case of Arthropoda. There is no clear explanation for these findings, but it is evident that the intertidal biota around the power plant has been affected since the nuclear accident.
| S-EPMC4740796 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Few studies have tracked the long-term mental health outcomes following major disaster. We sought to document the trajectories of depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. A cohort of community-dwelling older adults were followed for 5.5 years after the disaster at 3 waves (2010, 2013 and 2016). Depressive symptoms were measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, while PTSS was assessed by the Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health. We examined the trajectories of mental illness symptoms based on the probabilities of persistence, recovery, and delayed onset. Among people without pre-disaster depressive symptoms, 13.6% had developed depressive symptoms 2.5 years after the disaster. Of these, half of those had recovered and half had persisted at the 5.5 year follow-up. 11.1% of survivors reported post-traumatic stress symptoms in 2013; of these, 58% recovered by 2016, while 4.8% experienced delayed onset. Job loss was associated with persistent PTSS (OR 2.03; 95%CI 1.01-4.12) while a drop in subjective economic status predicted delayed onset of PTSS (OR 2.13; 1.34-3.39). However, disaster-related experiences were unrelated to the trajectory of depressive symptoms at 5.5 years. The probabilities of remission (58%) and delayed onset (5%) of PTSS are consistent with prior disaster research. The experience of job loss and drop in subjective economic status appeared to exert a lingering influence on the persistence or delayed onset of PTSS. Depressive symptoms after the disaster had remitted in roughly half of the survivors after 5.5 years.
| S-EPMC7443179 | biostudies-literature