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      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

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          Abstract

          The 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident resulted in the exposure to radiation and evacuation, which has created psychological distress among the Fukushima residents. With the provision of multi-faceted support and the progress of the reconstruction, their mental health has appeared to show signs of recovery. However, there have been few studies investigating their recovery. To clarify the related factors associated with mental health recovery, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. Subjects whose answers were associated with Resilience, Recovery, and Remitting patterns of mental health status were categorized in the Recovery group, while those associated with Delayed/Chronic dysfunction were placed in the Non-recovered group. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, disaster-related unemployment (odds ratio (OR): 0.80, 95% CI (confidence interval): 0.65–0.99) and economic hardship (OR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.65–0.98) were associated with the hindrance of recovery. In contrast, overall good health (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.20–1.80), regular physical activity (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.01–1.50), social interaction with friends (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.00–1.55), and established social roles (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.14–1.82) were associated with the promotion of recovery. In conclusion, our study showed a positive association between mental health recovery and a desirable lifestyle and social network, particularly with social roles. Thus, the provision of active social roles can promote recovery related to a disaster as with multi-faceted support.

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          Unemployment and ill health: understanding the relationship.

          To review research relevant to understanding the psychological, social, and biological pathways by which unemployment may affect health risk; to consider the importance of four specific mechanisms; and to indicate some directions for future research. Studies were chosen to illustrate the development of four major hypotheses regarding the relationship between unemployment and ill health, as well as the present state of knowledge. The review therefore includes some much-cited "classics" drawn from a long time span. Where recent reviews already exist relevant to individual mechanisms, these are referred to. Recent (since 1987) reports were sought by searching the BIDS data base. Particular effort was made to locate studies which enabled alternative hypotheses to be evaluated, and to point out where existing evidence is inconsistent or incomplete, indicating the need for further research. To understand the relationship between unemployment and ill health and mortality, four mechanisms need to be considered: the role of relative poverty; social isolation and loss of self esteem; health related behaviour (including that associated with membership of certain types of "subculture"); and the effect that a spell of unemployment has on subsequent employment patterns.
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            Social capital and mental health.

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              Mental Health and Related Factors after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

              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.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                ijerph
                International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
                MDPI
                1661-7827
                1660-4601
                27 October 2018
                November 2018
                : 15
                : 11
                : 2381
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan; yasumura@ 123456fmu.ac.jp
                [2 ]Faculty of Human Studies, Musashino University, Tokyo 135-8181, Japan; satonaka@ 123456musashino-u.ac.jp
                [3 ]Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan; takeb-ky@ 123456fmu.ac.jp (Y.T.); itoaki@ 123456fmu.ac.jp (A.I.); maho-m@ 123456fmu.ac.jp (M.M.); masagen@ 123456fmu.ac.jp (M.M.); hit-ohto@ 123456fmu.ac.jp (H.O.)
                [4 ]Department of Disaster Psychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: oruima@ 123456fmu.ac.jp ; Tel.: +81-24-547-1180
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4871-8455
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4715-2840
                Article
                ijerph-15-02381
                10.3390/ijerph15112381
                6265751
                30373233
                61d7e334-db4c-43c1-bd01-e5b841534032
                © 2018 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 21 September 2018
                : 25 October 2018
                Categories
                Article

                Public health
                mental health,nuclear disaster,great east japan earthquake,recovery,social network,social role,desirable lifestyle

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