Publications by authors named "Hironori Nakano"

Article Synopsis
  • Oral frailty (OF) is a type of frailty that has connections to psychosocial factors like laughter and social interaction, which can enhance longevity by lowering stress and promoting physical activity.
  • A study conducted in Fukushima from 2020 to 2021 surveyed 916 residents aged 60-79 to investigate the impact of laughter and social communication on the risk of developing OF, revealing a prevalence of 41.5%.
  • The analysis found that engaging in daily laughter and having no depressive symptoms significantly reduced the risk of OF, suggesting that promoting these factors could improve health outcomes for older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident led to negative lifestyle changes and psychological stress among nearby residents, prompting a study on how these factors influenced metabolic syndrome (METs) onset.
  • The study involved over 10,000 residents and analyzed health data through surveys from 2013 to 2017, using logistic regression to evaluate lifestyle changes and METs incidence.
  • Findings revealed that 14% of participants developed METs, with unhealthy habits like fast eating, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption linked to higher METs risk, while increased physical activity had a protective effect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Fukushima Prefectural Government initiated a long-term health survey following the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster, finding that some children showed early signs of obesity and liver dysfunction.
  • A study from 2011 to 2018 evaluated changes in obesity rates and liver enzyme levels in these children, indicating that any spikes in body mass index (BMI) post-disaster were temporary.
  • Overall, results suggested that the disaster did not significantly impact long-term obesity rates or liver health in Fukushima children, as both conditions remained stable over the observed years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, led to a nuclear accident at Fukushima and forced many people to evacuate, impacting their lifestyles and health.
  • A 7-year study examined the link between evacuation and new-onset hyperuricemia in 18,140 residents, finding significant associations in women but not in men.
  • The research concluded that evacuation is a risk factor for hyperuricemia in women, highlighting the health effects of natural disasters beyond immediate physical harm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Residents who lived near the Fukushima Power Plant accident were forced to change their lifestyle after the 2011 accident. This study aimed to elucidate the association of resident lifestyle and psychological factors with onset of hepatobiliary enzyme abnormalities (HEA) after the accident.

Methods: This longitudinal study included 15705 residents who underwent a comprehensive health check, as well as a mental health and lifestyle survey between June 2011 and March 2012.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Evacuees of the Great East Japan Earthquake have experienced adverse, long-term physical and psychological effects, including problem drinking. This study examined the risk and recovery factors for problem drinking among evacuees between fiscal years (FY) 2012 and 2017 using data on residents in the evacuation area from the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey. With the FY 2012 survey as a baseline, a survey comprising 15,976 men and women was conducted in the evacuation area from FY 2013 to FY 2017, examining the risk and protective factors for problem drinking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Psychological distress and PTSD may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, particularly in men, as suggested by a study following evacuees of the Great East Japan Earthquake over seven years.
  • The study utilized specific scales to measure probable depression and PTSD, revealing significant correlations with new-onset diabetes in men but not in women.
  • Findings indicate that post-disaster mental health issues have different impacts on diabetes risk based on sex, suggesting the need for tailored prevention strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The risk for people evacuated from Fukushima following the Great East Japan Earthquake of developing cancer from radiation exposure may be lower than that associated with smoking and alcohol drinking. However, the perception of those risks may change risk-related behavior. Therefore, we investigated whether the perceived risk of radiation exposure was associated with the initiation and/or cessation of smoking and of drinking alcohol following the disaster.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake has resulted in a nuclear accident, forcing residents of the surrounding areas to evacuate. To determine any association between excessive drinking and hypertension in the setting of disaster, we assessed whether the proportion of excessive drinkers increased and if post-disaster excessive drinking was a risk factor for hypertension.

Methods: This retrospective study assessed data from the Japanese National Database.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The relationship between radiation levels and mental health status after a nuclear disaster is unknown. We examined the association between individual external radiation doses and psychological distress or post-traumatic stress after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in March 2011 in Japan.

Methods: The Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey was conducted from January 2012.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Associations have been reported between lifestyle-related diseases and evacuation after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE). However, the relationship between lifestyle-related diseases and the effective radiation dose due to external exposure (EDEE) after the GEJE remains unclear.

Methods: From among 72,869 residents of Fukushima Prefecture (31,982 men; 40,887 women) who underwent a comprehensive health check in fiscal year (FY) 2011, the data of 54,087 residents (22,599 men; 31,488 women) aged 16 to 84 years were analyzed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Residents in the Fukushima evacuation area experienced significant lifestyle changes due to radiation exposure following the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011.
  • The Comprehensive Health Check (CHC) used retrospective and prospective analyses to track health trends among evacuees and assess the impact of the disaster on their health.
  • Findings indicate an increase in various health issues (e.g., diabetes, dyslipidemia) among evacuees, highlighting the need for ongoing health monitoring and interventions to prevent lifestyle-related diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal exposure to external radiation on perinatal outcomes among women who experienced the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster (FDND) using the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS).

Methods: Data from the Pregnancy and Birth Survey and Basic Survey in the FHMS were combined to analyze external maternal radiation exposure following the FDND, and the relationship between radiation dose and perinatal outcomes was analyzed using binomial logistic regression analysis. Missing dose data were supplemented using multiple imputation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study explored how different dietary patterns relate to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among evacuees from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
  • It analyzed data from 22,740 non-diabetic participants, focusing on their eating habits and tracking T2DM incidence until 2018.
  • The findings suggest that adhering to a typical Japanese dietary pattern may lower the risk of developing T2DM, particularly in women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A novel healthy diet index for dietary quality can be used to assess food intake. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the Fukushima Health Management Survey collected dietary data using a short-form food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The current study included eligible participants ( = 64,909) aged 16-84 years who answered the FFQ in 2011.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated how lifestyle and psychological factors relate to cholesterol and triglyceride levels in Fukushima residents following the 2011 earthquake.
  • Key findings revealed that evacuation experience raised the risk of unhealthy lipid levels, while good dietary diversity and drinking habits were linked to better outcomes.
  • Additionally, low sleep satisfaction and lack of exercise correlated with higher risks of low HDL and high TG levels, highlighting the need for lifestyle improvements among disaster evacuees.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

During the Great East Japan Earthquake, many people experienced the loss of family and friends, among other traumatic events. This study sought to clarify the impact of the loss of significant close others on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), as well as the factors associated with PTSS, among individuals who experienced the loss of significant close others (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The objectives of this study were to determine the longer-term trends in childhood obesity and glucose metabolism abnormalities among residents of Fukushima Prefecture 5 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods: We evaluated the changes in height, weight, body mass index (BMI), BMI SD score, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among elementary and junior high school residents who had lived in the evacuation zone between 2011 and 2015.

Results: Of the residents, 11,112 received health checks in 2011, while in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, 5,737, 4522, 4297 and 3405 received health checks, respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There has been an increase in lifestyle-related diseases in Fukushima Prefecture since the Great East Japan Earthquake. However, the overall long-term trends of lifestyle-related diseases in the Fukushima Prefecture according to the evacuation and other area are not reported. Therefore, we examined the long-term trends in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake in Fukushima Prefecture according to these areas using a national database.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We developed a mobile application (app) to help communication between support providers and residents who have returned from evacuation after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Surveys were conducted among returning residents and support providers in coastal areas of Fukushima Prefecture, from which application functions and layout were decided. App functions were included to estimate external exposure, monitor health, and facilitate interactive health counseling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To identify factors, including mental health, associated with smoking relapse among women in Japan from pregnancy to early parenthood.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from an ongoing cross-sectional study conducted between 2013 and 2016.

Setting: We mailed questionnaires to all women who received a maternal and child health handbook from a municipality in Fukushima Prefecture or who underwent a maternal health checkup and gave birth in Fukushima Prefecture.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: While there have been several intervention studies on the psychological effects of laughter, few have examined both the psychological and physical effects. This study investigates the effects of a laughter program on body weight, body mass index (BMI), subjective stress, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Japanese community-dwelling individuals using a randomized controlled trial with a waitlist.

Methods: Overall, 235 participants (37 men and 198 women) aged 43-79 years (mean 66.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We conducted a longitudinal examination to assess the relationship between lifestyle habits, including exercise habits, and the incidence of undernutrition after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. Of the 31,411 participants aged ≥60 years who lived in the municipalities' evacuation areas before the disaster and had undergone health examinations, 17,622 persons with a body mass index of 20-25 kg/m were followed up through the FY 2017 (a mean follow-up of 6.9 years).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF