Prevalence, incidence, and recovery of metabolic syndrome after the fukushima nuclear power plant disaster: A 10-year longitudinal study.

After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome sharply increased in municipalities near the nuclear power plant, where a massive evacuation of community residents occurred (the evacuation area). However, after the initial increase, the rate of increase in metabolic syndrome in the evacuation area was slower than that in the surrounding area (non-evacuation area). In this study, we compared the incidence of and recovery from metabolic syndrome as well as its prevalence between evacuation and non-evacuation areas during the 10 years after the accident to explore whether the slower increase in metabolic syndrome after the initial increase in the evacuation area stemmed from suppressed incidence or from fast recovery.

Social networks and posttraumatic stress symptoms five to ten years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.

Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, multiple social network disruptions have been reported among the community in Fukushima, while posttraumatic stress symptoms among the residents have persisted. In this study, we aimed to explore the influence of time and social networks on the recovery of posttraumatic stress symptoms based on longitudinal data from community residents in Fukushima, following up five to ten years after the nuclear power plant accident. We conducted five questionnaire surveys quasi-annually, the targets of which were randomly sampled 4900 non-evacuee community residents.

Prediction of the 4-Year Incidence Risk of Ischemic Stroke in Healthy Japanese Adults: The Fukushima Health Database.

Aim: Estimating the risk of developing ischemic stroke (IS) may assist health professionals in motivating individuals to modify their risk behavior.

Methods: A predictive model was derived from 178,186 participants from Fukushima Health Database, aged 40-74 years, who attended the health checkup in 2014 and completed at least one annual health checkup by 2018 (Cohort I). Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to build a 4-year prediction model, thus the risk scores were based on the regression coefficients.

Effects of disaster-related traumatic events on worry about radiation and COVID-19: A decade after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

Community residents exposed to nuclear power plant (NPP) accidents have long-term worry about the effects of radiation. After the 2011 Fukushima NPP accident, those who experienced traumatic events during the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) tended to have greater worry about radiation. Along with the prolonged worry about radiation, there may also be cognitive changes caused by the traumatic events.

Worry about Radiation and Its Risk Factors Five to Ten Years after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster.

Worry about radiation persists long after nuclear power plant accidents. Young age, low socioeconomic status, being married, and disaster-related experiences are known to be associated with greater worry about radiation. This study explored the duration of the effects of these risk factors on worry about radiation after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, using the longitudinal data of randomly sampled non-evacuee community residents who were followed five to ten years after the accident.

Development of the Japanese version of Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale.

Background: An important factor in proceeding the efforts to reduce coercion in psychiatry is the attitudes of clinical staff toward its use. We aimed to develop the Japanese version of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale (SACS) and clarify its psychometric properties.

Methods: After the translation and back-translation of the SACS, which includes 15 items consisting of three subscales, we conducted an anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey of clinical staffs working in 17 wards in two psychiatric hospitals.

The ongoing activities of livelihood support counselors following nuclear disaster under the COVID-19 restrictions: A preliminary survey.

Background: This preliminary study aims to understand the state of support provided in the evacuation areas of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, during the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) restriction.

Methods: A self-administered survey was conducted with 18 livelihood support counselors from two Social Welfare Councils in November 2020. We investigated the number of consultations since the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of telephonic consultation as opposed to in-person consultations through visits to counselees' homes.

Adolescent Work Values and Drug Use in Adulthood: A Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study.

Personal values have been considered as a predictor of drug use. We examined the association between work values in adolescence and drug use in adulthood using 23-year longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study. Partial extrinsic and intrinsic work values predicted cannabis use in the past year after adjusting for sociodemographic variables and alcohol and tobacco use at baseline.

Distrust in government and its relationship with mental health after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

Background: Distrust in authorities has negative effects on mental health.

Aims: In this study, we aimed to explore whether the impact of distrust in government on mental health became stronger in the area heavily affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

Methods: We examined the effects of distrust in the national government on depressive symptoms three years after the accident among community residents in Fukushima prefecture using those in the Kanto area (the area surrounding Tokyo) as a control.

Longitudinal association between adolescent work values and mental health and well-being in adulthood: a 23-year prospective cohort study.

Personal values developed in adolescence may influence mental health and well-being over the life course. Using data from 684 respondents in the Youth Development Study (61.9% of respondents in the baseline survey), we explored the effects of work values at ages 14-15 on positive and negative emotions, as well as psychological resources (self-esteem and mastery), at ages 37-38.

Long-lasting effects of distrust in government and science on mental health eight years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.

We aimed to explore the effects of erosion of trust in authorities on the long-term mental health of community residents after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan. We investigated the effects of distrust in authorities on mental health in a cohort study following non-evacuee community residents after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. A baseline questionnaire survey was administered five years after the accident for a random sample of 4900 residents outside the evacuation zone in Fukushima.

Relationship Between Use of Media and Radiation Anxiety Among the Residents of Fukushima 5.5 Years After the Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationships between use of media to obtain information on radiation and radiation anxiety among community residents in Fukushima, 5.5 years after the nuclear power plant accident.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was administered between August and October 2016 to 2000 randomly sampled residents in Fukushima prefecture.

Relationship between the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint and the nurse-bed ratio in psychiatric wards in Japan.

The relationship between the number of nurses in psychiatric wards and frequency of use of seclusion and restraint has been unclear. We aimed to clarify this relationship in Japanese general psychiatric wards while controlling for patient and ward-level characteristics. We hypothesized that seclusion and mechanical restraint are less likely to be used in a ward with more nurses.

Effects of Disaster Damage and Working Conditions on Mental Health Among Public Servants 16 Months After the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Objective: To explore whether stressors after a disaster have later effects on the mental health of public servants who engage in disaster response and to estimate the proportion of those experiencing persistent mental distress.

Methods: We analyzed the data of health surveys conducted in Miyagi Prefecture for all prefectural public servants at 2, 7, and 16 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake (n=3174). We investigated relationships between mental distress (defined as K6≥10) at 16 months after the earthquake and earthquake damage and working conditions at 2 months.

Burnout among public servants after the Great East Japan Earthquake: decomposing the construct aftermath of disaster.

Objectives: To examine whether disaster-related variables, in addition to known work-related risk factors, influence burnout and its subscales (exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of professional efficacy) among public servants who experienced a major disaster.

Methods: Cross-sectional studies were conducted among public servants of Miyagi prefecture at 2 and 16 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake (n=3,533, response rate 66.8%); burnout was assessed at 16 months using the Japanese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey.

Systematic Consensus Building on Disaster Mental Health Services After the Great East Japan Earthquake by Phase.

Objective: We intended to build consensus on appropriate disaster mental health services among professionals working in the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods: We focused on the first 3 months after the disaster, divided into 3 phases: immediate aftermath, acute phase, and midphase. We adopted the Delphi process and asked our survey participants (n=115) to rate the appropriateness of specific mental health services in each phase and comment on them.

Developing a Consensus-based Definition of "Kokoro-no Care" or Mental Health Services and Psychosocial Support: Drawing from Experiences of Mental Health Professionals Who Responded to the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Objectives: In this survey, we aimed to build consensus and gather opinions on 'Kokoro-no care' or mental health services and psychosocial support (MHSPSS) after a disaster, among mental health professionals who engaged in care after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods: We recruited mental health professionals who engaged in support activities after the Great East Japan Earthquake, which included local health professionals in the affected areas and members of mental health care teams dispatched from outside (n = 131). Adopting the Delphi process, we proposed a definition of 'Kokoro-no care', and asked the participants to rate the appropriateness on a 5-point Likert scale.