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Citation
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Oe M, Fujii S, Maeda M, Nagai M, Harigane M, Miura I, Yabe H, Ohira T, Takahashi H, Suzuki Y, Yasumura S, Abe M. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2016; 70(6): 245-252. |
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Abstract
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AIM: Prolonged periods of instability in terms of living environment can lead to a serious increase in mental health issues among the disaster-affected individuals. The aim of this study was to assess long-term trends on mental health among adult residents in the nuclear disaster-affected area.
METHODS: Mail-based, self-administered questionnaire surveys were conducted three times (T1-T3), targeting all residents registered with the municipalities in the evacuation zone in Fukushima prefecture at the time of the disaster. Age-adjusted prevalences of the following were analyzed by gender: risk of psychological distress by the Kessler 6-item Scale (K6), posttraumatic stress by the PTSD Checklist (PCL), and problem drinking by CAGE.
RESULTS: The numbers of respondents and response rates were: 73,568, 40.7% (T1); 55,076, 29.9% (T2); and 46,386, 25.0% (T3). Compared with normal Japanese levels in non-disaster settings (4.7%), the prevalence of general psychological distress by K6 ≥13 was still high 3 years after the event in both males (11.4%) and females (15.8%). Although the age-adjusted prevalence of psychological distress and posttraumatic stress (PCL ≥ 44) had decreased over time (from 19.0% (T1) to 17.8% (T3) for males, 25.3% to 23.3% for females), the age-adjusted prevalence of problem drinking (CAGE ≥ 2) remained steady in both males (20.7% (T2) and 20.4% (T3); P = 0.18) and females (10.5% (T2) and 10.5% (T3); P = 0.91).
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that long-term interventions focused on posttraumatic stress as well as other mental health problems are strongly needed for the disaster-affected individuals.
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Language: en |