Search

The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent nuclear power plant accident caused multidimensional and long-term effects on the mental health condition of people living in Fukushima. In this article, focusing on the influence of the nuclear disaster, we present an overview of studies regarding the psychosocial consequences of people in Fukushima. Studies revealed that the experiences of the explosions at the plant as well as the tsunami are deeply embedded in their memory, leading to posttraumatic responses. Chronic physical diseases, worries about livelihood, lost jobs, lost social ties, and concerns about compensation were also associated with posttraumatic responses. Furthermore, the radioactive fallout brought chronic anxiety regarding physical risks of radiation exposure to people, especially young mothers. People often have different opinions about the radiation risk and their own future plans, resulting in a reduction in the resilience that communities and families had before the disaster. In addition, such weakened community resilience may produce a significant increase in disaster-related suicide in Fukushima. Specific social issues, such as "radiation stigma" among the public and self-stigma among evacuees, that are never seen with other natural disasters also increased in Fukushima. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The longitudinal posttraumatic stress responses and resilient factors after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are yet unknown. Here we attempted to quantify the patterns of the course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and we explored the factors associated with psychological recovery. The subjects were 12371 residents in the municipalities categorized as the forced evacuated area. We categorized the subjects' PTSD symptoms in to 4 groups: Chronic, Resistant, Recovered, and Non-recovered. We applied a logistic regression to clarify the factors related to psychological recovery. We observed that laughter showed significant odds ratio in the Recovered group and the Resistant group. Meanwhile, elderly residents and those with poor living circumstances showed significant odds ratios for the Recovered group and the Resistant group. Laughter in daily life was associated with the psychological health in the evacuation area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent nuclear reactor accident, the outdoor activities of children greatly decreased. We investigated adverse effects on the exercise habits and mental health of children after the disaster. The target subjects were children aged 6 to 15 years living inside the government-designated evacuation zone as of March 11, 2011 (n = 29 585). The subjects' parents/guardians completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and exercise habit data were obtained from the 2011 Fukushima Health Management Survey. A total of 18 745 valid responses were returned. We excluded questionnaires with incomplete answers leaving 10 824 responses for the final analysis. SDQ scores >16 indicated high risk of mental health. Children in the evacuation zone who did not get regular exercise had a higher risk of mental problems as evaluated by SDQ (multivariate-adjusted prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.49; 95% CI 1.38-1.62). When stratified by sex, age, place of residence, treatment for illnesses and experienced the nuclear reactor accident the associations were essentially the same. Regular exercise is important for maintaining children's mental health after a disaster. This is the first large-scale report to examine the impact of outdoor exercise limitations among children in a nuclear accident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, might have affected the mental health status of children. To assess the mental health status, we measured the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in 15 274 children (aged 4-15 years). The proportions of those who scored above the cutoff (≥16) of SDQ, reflecting the clinical range of the mental health status, were 25.0% (aged 4-6 years), 22.0% (aged 7-12 years, and 16.3% (aged 13-15 years), which were higher than that in the usual state (9.5%). We also explored the possibility that the distribution on the Fukushima prefectural map of the proportions of those who scored above the cutoff (≥16) of SDQ might correspond with the environmental radiation levels, but there was no significant correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the relationship between psychological distress and degree of functional independence among elderly adults following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Participants were 20 282 adults aged 65 and older who lived in the Great East Japan Earthquake evacuation zone specified by the government on March 31, 2011. This study is a part of a detailed survey on mental health and lifestyle, the Fukushima Health Management Survey, which was conducted in 2012. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6 scale. Functional independence in different daily activities was assessed by asking participants whether they could independently perform activities: eating, dressing, toileting, and shopping. According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, psychological distress was significantly associated with independence in all models: without adjustment (Model 1), adjusting for demographic characteristics (Model 2), and adjusting for demographic characteristics and disaster-related factors (Model 3), with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.32 (95% confidence interval = 1.97-2.73). High psychological distress was associated with low functional independence, after controlling for demographic characteristics and disaster-related factors. Thus, using psychological distress as the dependent variable, we examined the relationship between low functional independence and psychological distress among elderly adults who were evacuated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in March 2011 forced the evacuation of 185 000 residents. Psychological and social impacts exacerbated by long-term evacuation and widespread rum ors have influenced residents' physical and mental health, despite the fact that no direct fatalities occurred from radiation exposure. However, during the 5 years following the accident, steady recovery in industrial and economic activity has lessened previously widespread, deeply rooted stigma and self-stigma among a significant number of affected victims. More than 21 000 of 62 800 people who evacuated from Fukushima are gradually returning, and concurrently, Fukushima's economic and social recovery are progressing, as can be seen from remarkable increases in residential construction, recovering agricultural production, job growth, and industrial output. Although post-disaster interventions such as seminars and dialogues with residents are credited with building resilience, a significant proportion of people in the area have depressive tendencies and loss of purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]