219 results match your criteria: "Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey.[Affiliation]"

A prospective study of the association between lifestyle and the risk of depressive symptoms.

J Affect Disord

January 2025

Department of Epidemiology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikariga-oka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan; Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikariga-oka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan. Electronic address:

Background: Few studies have prospectively, comprehensively, and by sex, examined the relationship between lifestyle and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to longitudinally examine which lifestyle factors are associated with depressive symptoms in a large cohort of Japanese participants stratified by sex.

Methods: Among 9087 office and community-based residents who attended a health measurement course at the Osaka Medical Center for Health Science and Promotion between 2001 and 2002, 6629 individuals (3962 men and 2667 women) without prior depressive symptoms were followed until the end of March 2012 to observe the associations between lifestyle factors and the development of new depressive symptoms.

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This study aimed to assess long-term changes in pregnancy and birth outcomes after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima Prefecture. This is the final report on perinatal outcomes of the Prefectural Health Survey, which ended after a 10-year observation period. Questionnaires based on a pregnancy and birth survey conducted by the Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey were sent to women who had received maternal and child health handbooks from municipal officers in Fukushima Prefecture.

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Restless legs syndrome among blood donors: A systemic review and meta-analysis.

Vox Sang

December 2024

Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.

Background And Objectives: Restless legs syndrome (RLS), with adverse health outcomes, has been linked to blood donation, but evidence published thus far has not been rigorously analysed. This systematic review aggregates existing evidence on RLS among blood donors and identifies associated factors worthy of further investigation.

Materials And Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for articles published through 16 December 2023.

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Fukushima Medical University (FMU) organizes annual International Symposiums on the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) to share up-to-date Survey findings. In response to radiation released from the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the FHMS was established with the aim of providing long-term follow-up for the physical and mental health of Fukushima residents, and maintaining and improving their health into the future. This year, the sixth annual symposium was convened in Tokyo on Saturday, March 2, 2024, with the theme, "3.

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Breastfeeding, depending on its duration, has been suggested to benefit children's cognitive development. We aimed to examine this issue by using the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a nationwide prospective birth cohort study. We evaluated the relationship between feeding methods and cognitive development in 2- and 4-year-old children.

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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.
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Thyroid ultrasound examinations (TUEs), conducted as part of the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS), were initiated to monitor the health status of residents after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident owing to concerns regarding the increased incidence of thyroid cancer among children, as observed after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. This study reported the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with thyroid cancer diagnosed through the FHMS and treated at the Fukushima Medical University Hospital. Data regarding the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with thyroid cancer were collected and evaluated in this descriptive study.

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  • Researchers conducted a study to explore the connection between thyroid autoantibodies (Tabs) and the clinical profiles of young patients (ages 3-29) with thyroid nodules, using data from 3,018 participants in the Fukushima Health Management Survey.
  • The study discovered that Tabs were found in 13.9% of participants, with higher rates in females, those with diffuse goiter, and those diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma.
  • Findings indicate that Tab positivity is linked to larger thyroid sizes, the presence of diffuse goiter and papillary thyroid carcinoma, and high TSH levels, suggesting that testing for Tabs could enhance assessment methods for thyroid function and cancer detection in younger patients with nodules.
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  • - The study analyzed thyroid cancer detection in children and adolescents in Fukushima after the 2011 nuclear disaster, involving over 253,000 participants with varying levels of radiation exposure.
  • - Utilizing Poisson regression, the research assessed the relationship between external radiation exposure and thyroid cancer, concluding that there was no significant association even at low radiation doses.
  • - The findings indicated that over 99.9% of participants experienced radiation exposure below 5 mSv, with an average follow-up period of 3.7 years, and thus, low radiation exposure was unlikely to increase thyroid cancer risk.
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  • 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.
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We aimed to examine the support needs of women who migrated to Fukushima Prefecture after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. In recent years, the presence of migrants has become an important part of the government's reconstruction policy for affected areas. However, there is insufficient research on the status of migrants in these areas, and it is unclear what kind of support the migrants, especially females, require to encourage further migration to the area.

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

Soc Sci Med

September 2024

Department of Digital Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. Electronic address:

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.

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For over 12 years since the 2011 East Japan Earthquake, the decontamination of radioactive materials is still incomplete. Although evacuation orders had been lifted in ~15% of Futaba town, the site of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, by August 2022, anxiety regarding the effects of nuclear radiation persists among evacuees, and their intention to return (ITR) remains low. As of August 2023, only 90 residents lived there.

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Association between evacuation and becoming overweight after the Great East Japan Earthquake: a 7-year follow-up of the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Public Health

July 2024

Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.

Objectives: Disaster evacuation increases the risk of becoming overweight or obese owing to lifestyle changes and psychosocial factors. This study evaluated the effect of evacuation on becoming overweight during a 7-year follow-up among residents of Fukushima Prefecture during the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Study Design: This was a prospective cohort study.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) was initiated in June 2011 to monitor and improve the long-term health of residents affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
  • Since 2019, Fukushima Medical University (FMU) has hosted annual FHMS International Symposiums to disseminate survey findings to the public and stakeholders.
  • The fifth annual symposium took place on March 4, 2023, focusing on the theme of collaborative discussions about health, life, and the future in Fukushima.
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The Fukushima Medical University (FMU) International Symposium on the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) convened for the fourth time in March 2022 to share FHMS findings within Fukushima and beyond. Dr. TAKENOSHITA Seiichi, FMU President, underscored Fukushima's restoration journey, while Governor UCHIBORI Masao committed to partnering with FMU for residents' welfare.

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Effects of Overweight on Risk of Thyroid Nodules in Children and Adolescents: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab

January 2025

Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.

Context: Examining how overweight/obesity impacts thyroid nodule development in children and adolescents by sex and age allows speculation on the mechanism.

Objective: We examined whether overweight/obesity in children and adolescents is associated with thyroid nodule development by sex and age.

Methods: Approximately 300 000 participants who underwent thyroid ultrasonography in the Fukushima Health Management Survey after a nuclear accident were enrolled.

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  • Dopamine transporter SPECT (DAT-SPECT) is essential for diagnosing Parkinson's disease (PD), but its accuracy can vary across different clinical sites, posing challenges in multisite trials.
  • Both prospective linear regression and retrospective statistical correction (ComBat) methods were tested to improve the accuracy of DAT-SPECT measurements in distinguishing PD patients from healthy controls.
  • Results indicated that while both correction methods improved diagnostic performance, the ComBat correction achieved comparable accuracy to the prospective method, suggesting it could be an effective alternative for addressing site-related variability.
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  • The primary cause of diffuse thyroid goiter is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder, which is important for children's growth and development.
  • A study analyzed data from over 320,000 participants aged 1-23 to investigate the connections between diffuse goiter, thyroid volume, and body measurements, finding that diffuse goiter is more common in females as they age.
  • Results indicated that higher body mass index (BMI) and the presence of nodules are linked to an increased prevalence of diffuse goiter, particularly reflecting age-related trends in younger populations.
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Temporal variation and fluctuation in environmental contamination in Futaba town and Okuma town, the location of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), were evaluated based on a car-borne survey conducted from October 2021 to November 2022. Although the environmental radioactivity in the interim storage facility area (ISF) was higher than that in open areas (i.e.

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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.
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Background: After the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 and the subsequent accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company-operated Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the Fukushima Prefecture government initiated the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) to assess the long-term health effects of the disaster on Fukushima residents. The blood tests of children aged ≤15 years between 2011 and 2012 did not reveal any changes regarding peripheral blood data; however, long-term monitoring is still necessary. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the long-term health status of children aged ≤15 years who had evacuated the Fukushima Prefecture.

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  • 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.
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  • The study investigates the long-term effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima disaster on obstetrics outcomes over an 8-year period.
  • Data from over 57,000 participants in the Pregnancy and Birth Survey revealed trends in maternal age, conception rates, and cesarean section deliveries, indicating some significant changes.
  • While variations in preterm birth and low birth weight occurred across different districts, overall, the disasters did not show significant negative impacts on obstetric outcomes like preterm birth or newborn anomalies.
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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.

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