IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i24p9532-d464954.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Current Psychological Distress, Post-traumatic Stress, and Radiation Health Anxiety Remain High for Those Who Have Rebuilt Permanent Homes Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Author

Listed:
  • Masatsugu Orui

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
    Sendai City Mental Health and Welfare Center, Sendai 980-0845, Japan)

  • Chihiro Nakayama

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

  • Nobuaki Moriyama

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

  • Masaharu Tsubokura

    (Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

  • Kiyotaka Watanabe

    (Department of Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 173-8606, Japan)

  • Takeo Nakayama

    (Department of Health Informatics, School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan)

  • Minoru Sugita

    (Toho University, Tokyo 143-8540, Japan)

  • Seiji Yasumura

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

Abstract

Objective: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 produced psychological reactions among evacuees. Despite the harsh situation, subsequently, there has been gradual progress in reconstruction, with more than half of the evacuees returning after the evacuation. Our hypothesis is that evacuee mental health will now be better due to new stable living conditions. This study aims to clarify the statuses of psychological distress, post-traumatic stress, and radiation health anxiety among evacuees who have rebuilt permanent homes after evacuation. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 1600 residents was conducted in 2020. As primary outcomes, the survey measured psychological distress (Kessler 6), post-traumatic stress (post-traumatic stress four-item checklist), and radiation health anxiety. The data are compared for residents who have rebuilt permanent home and those who did not evacuate. Results: In the co-variant analysis, the statuses of psychological distress ( p < 0.001), post-traumatic stress ( p < 0.001), and radiation health anxiety ( p < 0.001) are found to still be high, with significant differences when compared to those who did not evacuate. These results are still at an equivalent level for the continuing evacuation. Conclusion: Our findings may indicate a necessity for continuing disaster-related mental health activities even though the living conditions have improved.

Suggested Citation

  • Masatsugu Orui & Chihiro Nakayama & Nobuaki Moriyama & Masaharu Tsubokura & Kiyotaka Watanabe & Takeo Nakayama & Minoru Sugita & Seiji Yasumura, 2020. "Current Psychological Distress, Post-traumatic Stress, and Radiation Health Anxiety Remain High for Those Who Have Rebuilt Permanent Homes Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9532-:d:464954
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9532/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9532/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Masatsugu Orui & Yuka Ueda & Yuriko Suzuki & Masaharu Maeda & Tetsuya Ohira & Hirooki Yabe & Seiji Yasumura, 2017. "The Relationship between Starting to Drink and Psychological Distress, Sleep Disturbance after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Masatsugu Orui & Chihiro Nakayama & Yujiro Kuroda & Nobuaki Moriyama & Hajime Iwasa & Teruko Horiuchi & Takeo Nakayama & Minoru Sugita & Seiji Yasumura, 2020. "The Association between Utilization of Media Information and Current Health Anxiety Among the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster Evacuees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-12, June.
    3. Masatsugu Orui & Satomi Nakajima & Yui Takebayashi & Akiko Ito & Maho Momoi & Masaharu Maeda & Seiji Yasumura & Hitoshi Ohto, 2018. "Mental Health Recovery of Evacuees and Residents from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident after Seven Years—Contribution of Social Network and a Desirable Lifestyle," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Jun Shigemura & Takeshi Tanigawa & Daisuke Nishi & Yutaka Matsuoka & Soichiro Nomura & Aihide Yoshino, 2014. "Associations between Disaster Exposures, Peritraumatic Distress, and Posttraumatic Stress Responses in Fukushima Nuclear Plant Workers following the 2011 Nuclear Accident: The Fukushima NEWS Project S," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-8, February.
    5. Akiko Sato & Yuliya Lyamzina, 2018. "Diversity of Concerns in Recovery after a Nuclear Accident: A Perspective from Fukushima," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Yuriko Suzuki & Yoshitake Takebayashi & Seiji Yasumura & Michio Murakami & Mayumi Harigane & Hirooki Yabe & Tetsuya Ohira & Akira Ohtsuru & Satomi Nakajima & Masaharu Maeda, 2018. "Changes in Risk Perception of the Health Effects of Radiation and Mental Health Status: The Fukushima Health Management Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-11, June.
    7. Masatsugu Orui & Maiko Fukasawa & Naoko Horikoshi & Yuriko Suzuki & Norito Kawakami, 2020. "Development and Evaluation of a Gatekeeper Training Program Regarding Anxiety about Radiation Health Effects Following a Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Single-Arm Intervention Pilot Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-15, June.
    8. Masatsugu Orui & Yuriko Suzuki & Aya Goto & Seiji Yasumura, 2017. "Factors Associated with Maintaining the Mental Health of Employees after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Findings from Companies Located in the Evacuation Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Hajime Iwasa & Yuriko Suzuki & Tetsuya Shiga & Masaharu Maeda & Hirooki Yabe & Seiji Yasumura, 2016. "Psychometric Evaluation of the Japanese Version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist in Community Dwellers Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Incident," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maiko Fukasawa & Maki Umeda & Tsuyoshi Akiyama & Naoko Horikoshi & Seiji Yasumura & Hirooki Yabe & Yuriko Suzuki & Evelyn J. Bromet & Norito Kawakami, 2022. "Worry about Radiation and Its Risk Factors Five to Ten Years after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Masatsugu Orui & Chihiro Nakayama & Nobuaki Moriyama & Masaharu Tsubokura & Kiyotaka Watanabe & Takeo Nakayama & Minoru Sugita & Seiji Yasumura, 2021. "Those Who Have Continuing Radiation Anxiety Show High Psychological Distress in Cases of High Post-Traumatic Stress: The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-16, November.
    3. Akemi Miyagawa & Koichi Tanigawa, 2021. "Health and Medical Issues in the Area Affected by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Yujiro Kuroda & Masatsugu Orui & Arinobu Hori, 2021. "Trends in Suicide Mortality in 10 Years around the Great East Japan Earthquake: Analysis of Evacuation and Non-Evacuation Areas in Fukushima Prefecture," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-10, June.
    5. Akio Honda & Shosuke Sato & Motoaki Sugiura & Tsuneyuki Abe & Fumihiko Imamura, 2023. "Personality Traits and Types of Housing Recovery after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-9, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Masatsugu Orui & Chihiro Nakayama & Nobuaki Moriyama & Masaharu Tsubokura & Kiyotaka Watanabe & Takeo Nakayama & Minoru Sugita & Seiji Yasumura, 2021. "Those Who Have Continuing Radiation Anxiety Show High Psychological Distress in Cases of High Post-Traumatic Stress: The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Shuhei Nomura & Michio Murakami, 2018. "Public Health Preparedness for and Response to Nuclear Disasters: An Editorial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-4, November.
    3. Masatsugu Orui & Maiko Fukasawa & Naoko Horikoshi & Yuriko Suzuki & Norito Kawakami, 2020. "Development and Evaluation of a Gatekeeper Training Program Regarding Anxiety about Radiation Health Effects Following a Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Single-Arm Intervention Pilot Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Masatsugu Orui & Suzuka Saeki & Shuichiro Harada & Mizuho Hayashi, 2021. "Practical Report of Disaster-Related Mental Health Interventions Following the Great East Japan Earthquake during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Potential for Suicide Prevention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Makiko Orita & Yasuyuki Taira & Hitomi Matsunaga & Masaharu Maeda & Noboru Takamura, 2020. "Quality of Life and Intention to Return among Former Residents of Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture 9 Years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-9, September.
    6. Yuka Ueda & Fumikazu Hayashi & Tetsuya Ohira & Masaharu Maeda & Seiji Yasumura & Itaru Miura & Shuntaro Itagaki & Michio Shimabukuro & Hironori Nakano & Kenji Kamiya & Hirooki Yabe, 2022. "A Six-Year Prospective Study on Problem Drinking among Evacuees of the Great East Japan Earthquake: The Fukushima Health Management Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Yujiro Kuroda & Masatsugu Orui & Arinobu Hori, 2021. "Trends in Suicide Mortality in 10 Years around the Great East Japan Earthquake: Analysis of Evacuation and Non-Evacuation Areas in Fukushima Prefecture," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-10, June.
    8. Eri Eguchi & Tetsuya Ohira & Hironori Nakano & Fumikazu Hayashi & Kanako Okazaki & Mayumi Harigane & Narumi Funakubo & Atsushi Takahashi & Kanae Takase & Masaharu Maeda & Seiji Yasumura & Hirooki Yabe, 2021. "Association between Laughter and Lifestyle Diseases after the Great East Japan Earthquake: The Fukushima Health Management Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Masatsugu Orui & Satomi Nakajima & Yui Takebayashi & Akiko Ito & Maho Momoi & Masaharu Maeda & Seiji Yasumura & Hitoshi Ohto, 2018. "Mental Health Recovery of Evacuees and Residents from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident after Seven Years—Contribution of Social Network and a Desirable Lifestyle," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Yuriko Suzuki & Yoshitake Takebayashi & Seiji Yasumura & Michio Murakami & Mayumi Harigane & Hirooki Yabe & Tetsuya Ohira & Akira Ohtsuru & Satomi Nakajima & Masaharu Maeda, 2018. "Changes in Risk Perception of the Health Effects of Radiation and Mental Health Status: The Fukushima Health Management Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-11, June.
    11. Lennart Reifels & Michel L. A. Dückers, 2023. "Disaster Mental Health Risk Reduction: Appraising Disaster Mental Health Research as If Risk Mattered," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-14, May.
    12. Emily Ying Yang Chan & Holly Ching Yu Lam, 2021. "Research in Health-Emergency and Disaster Risk Management and Its Potential Implications in the Post COVID-19 World," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-3, March.
    13. Satomi Ikeda & Ai Ikeda & Tetsuya Ohira & Akira Sakai & Michio Shimabukuro & Masaharu Maeda & Hirooki Yabe & Masanori Nagao & Seiji Yasumura & Hitoshi Ohto & Kenji Kamiya & Takeshi Tanigawa, 2023. "Longitudinal Trends in Blood Pressure Associated with The Changes in Living Environment Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake: The Fukushima Health Management Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, January.
    14. Pablo Fernández-Arias & Álvaro Antón-Sancho & Georgios Lampropoulos & Diego Vergara, 2024. "Emerging Trends and Challenges in Pink Hydrogen Research," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-17, May.
    15. Maiko Fukasawa & Maki Umeda & Tsuyoshi Akiyama & Naoko Horikoshi & Seiji Yasumura & Hirooki Yabe & Yuriko Suzuki & Evelyn J. Bromet & Norito Kawakami, 2022. "Worry about Radiation and Its Risk Factors Five to Ten Years after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-13, December.
    16. Keiko Oishi & Makiko Orita & Yasuyuki Taira & Yuya Kashiwazaki & Hitomi Matsunaga & Noboru Takamura, 2021. "Risk Perception of Health Risks Associated with Radiation Exposure among Residents of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-8, December.
    17. Masatsugu Orui, 2022. "Suicide and Suicide Prevention Activities Following the Great East Japan Earthquake 2011: A Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-19, September.
    18. Ikki Ueda & Atsushi Sakuma & Yoko Takahashi & Wataru Shoji & Ayami Nagao & Mikika Abe & Yuriko Suzuki & Hiroo Matsuoka & Kazunori Matsumoto, 2017. "Criticism by community people and poor workplace communication as risk factors for the mental health of local welfare workers after the Great East Japan Earthquake: A cross-sectional study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, November.
    19. Kosuke Shirai & Nobuaki Yoshizawa & Yoshitake Takebayashi & Michio Murakami, 2019. "Modeling reconstruction-related behavior and evaluation of influences of major information sources," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, August.
    20. Yasuto Kunii & Yuriko Suzuki & Tetsuya Shiga & Hirooki Yabe & Seiji Yasumura & Masaharu Maeda & Shin-ichi Niwa & Akira Otsuru & Hirobumi Mashiko & Masafumi Abe & Mental Health Group of the Fukushima H, 2016. "Severe Psychological Distress of Evacuees in Evacuation Zone Caused by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: The Fukushima Health Management Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9532-:d:464954. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.