Incidence of Thyroid Cancer Among Children and Young Adults in Fukushima, Japan, Screened With 2 Rounds of Ultrasonography Within 5 Years of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident.

Importance: Ultrasonographic (US) screening for thyroid cancer was performed in the Fukushima Health Management Survey after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident. Clinical characteristics of thyroid cancers screened by US among children and young adults during the first 5 years after the accident were analyzed.

Objectives: To evaluate the number of detected thyroid cancers by age group within 5 years of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident and to compare the basic clinical characteristics and demographic patterns in first- and second-round examinations.

Public Health Preparedness for and Response to Nuclear Disasters: An Editorial.

In 2011, resilience to nuclear disasters emerged as a core public health challenge. [..

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.

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.

Effects of lifestyle on hepatobiliary enzyme abnormalities following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident: The Fukushima health management survey.

Dramatic lifestyle changes due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident increased the prevalence of hepatobiliary enzyme abnormalities (HEA). We aimed to evaluate associations of HEA with specific lifestyle- and disaster-related factors in residents who lived near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.This cross-sectional study included 22,246 residents who underwent a Comprehensive Health Check and the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey from June 2011 to March 2012.

BUILDING RISK COMMUNICATION CAPABILITIES AMONG PROFESSIONALS: SEVEN ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RISK COMMUNICATION.

Since the Fukushima disaster, medical professionals have been involved in risk communication with residents affected. This is an urgent issue, and an important aspect of global disaster preparedness is defining the essential characteristics of professional risk communication, and training medical professionals and students to conduct effective risk communication. Using a narrative of risk trade-offs between radionuclides in the diet and traffic accidents as an example, we introduce the seven essential characteristics required by medical professionals and authorities involved in risk communication: (1) risk assessment, (2) differentiating between risk acceptance and risk trade-offs, (3) understanding differences in risk quality, (4) understanding how to frame information given residents' values, (5) giving attention to coping with too-high risk, (6) building trust and (7) fully considering how information is provided.

Associations of disaster-related and psychosocial factors with changes in smoking status after a disaster: a cross-sectional survey after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Objective: Few studies have comprehensively examined changes in smoking status and related factors after a disaster. We examined these factors among residents of an evacuation area in Fukushima after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods: The study participants included 58 755 men and women aged ≥20 years who participated in the Fukushima Health Management Survey in 2012 after the disaster.

Changes in Risk Perception of the Health Effects of Radiation and Mental Health Status: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, numerous evacuees reported poor mental health status and high-risk perceptions of the health effects of radiation. However, the temporal associations between these variables have not yet been examined. Using data from the Fukushima Health Survey, we examined changes in risk perception of the health effects of radiation over time and assessed the effects of mental health on such changes using logistic regression analysis.

The Relationship between Sleep Time and Mental Health Problems According to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Children after an Earthquake Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

A cross-sectional study was performed on the adverse effects of sleep time on the mental health of children after the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent nuclear reactor accident in March 2011. The target participants were children aged 4-15 years living inside the government-designated evacuation zone as of 11 March 2011 ( = 29,585). The participants' parents/guardians completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and sleep time data were obtained from the 2011 Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Diversity of Concerns in Recovery after a Nuclear Accident: A Perspective from Fukushima.

Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, tremendous resources have been devoted to recovery, and the Japanese Government is gradually lifting evacuation orders. However, public concerns remain prevalent, affecting some people's return to a normal life and threatening their well-being. This study reviews government reports, academic papers, newspaper articles and conference presentations with the aim of obtaining a better understanding of issues which relate to radiation concerns in the recovery process in the aftermath of the accident.

Comprehensive Assessment of Risk Factors of Cause-Specific Infant Deaths in Japan.

Background: Public attention is given to infants with socially high risks of child abuse and neglect, while clinical attention is provided to infants with a biologically high risk of diseases. However, few studies have systematically evaluated how biological or social factors cross over and affect cause-specific infant mortality.

Methods: We linked birth data with death data from the Japanese national vital statistics database for all infants born from 2003-2010.

Associations of Tobacco Smoking with Impaired Endothelial Function: The Circulatory Risk in Communities Study (CIRCS).

Aims: Smoking impairs endothelial function as an acute effect. However, few population-based studies have examined the association between smoking status and endothelial function or the dose-response and duration-response association of smoking with endothelial function. We examined whether smoking habits were associated with impaired endothelial function depending on smoking dose and duration.

Effect of Radiological Countermeasures on Subjective Well-Being and Radiation Anxiety after the 2011 Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in 2011, concerns about radiation exposure and decline in subjective well-being have been reported. To tackle these problems, various countermeasures in relation to radiation have been implemented. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated the effects of radiological countermeasures on subjective well-being (e.

Trajectories of Emotional Symptoms and Peer Relationship Problems in Children after Nuclear Disaster: Evidence from the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, which occurred in March 2011, is having long-term effects on children. We planned this study to describe the trajectories of emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems in children and to examine potential risks and protective factors over the 35 months following the accident. The sample was 11,791 children in the first to sixth elementary grades.

Simulation of expected childhood and adolescent thyroid cancer cases in Japan using a cancer-progression model based on the National Cancer Registry: Application to the first-round thyroid examination of the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

During the 4 years following the nuclear power plant accident of 2011, 39 males and 77 females were diagnosed with or suspected of having cancer based on the first-round thyroid examination of the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) targeting residents aged <19 years in Fukushima. Prior comparisons between the observed data and Japan's National Cancer Registry (NCR) data suggested that this incidence might be excessive, but such comparisons are problematic because they need not only to adjust index unit (prevalence proportion vs incidence rate), but also examine characteristics (complete enumeration mass screening for the aged 0 to 18 years vs detections in clinical settings for all the residents) and sensitivity of the examinations. The purpose of this study is to build a common model applicable to any region in Japan under nonaccident conditions, and estimate the expected prevalence based on the numbers of subjects surveyed in the FHMS using a simulation of the sensitivity.

Findings of Thyroid Ultrasound Examination Within 3 Years After the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Context: Childhood thyroid cancer is of great concern after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Baseline analytical data on thyroid ultrasound examination (TUE) in children are important for future studies.

Objective: We analyzed the age and sex distribution of findings from the TUEs of children and adolescents in the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS).

Impact of evacuation on trends in the prevalence, treatment, and control of hypertension before and after a disaster.

Objective: After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors increased in victims. We examined the trends in the prevalence, treatment, and control of hypertension before and after the disaster, as well as the impact of evacuation.

Methods: Study participants were approximately 10 000 men and 12 000 women aged 40-74 years in each year from 2008 to 2014.

Comparative Analysis of the Growth Pattern of Thyroid Cancer in Young Patients Screened by Ultrasonography in Japan After a Nuclear Accident: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Importance: Thyroid cancer generally grows at a very slow rate in adults, and overdiagnosis is a global issue. However, the detection of early-stage thyroid cancer by screening is not well described in young patients. To prevent overdiagnosis, it is essential to understand the natural course of thyroid cancer growth detection by ultrasonography screening in young patients.

Loss of skeletal muscle mass in patients with chronic liver disease is related to decrease in bone mineral density and exercise tolerance.

Aim: This study aimed to identify the relationship between loss of skeletal muscle mass and clinical factors such as osteoporosis in patients with chronic liver disease.

Methods: The subjects were 112 patients (85 men and 27 women) with hepatocellular carcinoma who were scheduled to undergo hepatectomy. Skeletal muscle reduction was diagnosed according to the cut-off level of the skeletal mass index (SMI) for Asians (men <7.

Risk Perception and Anxiety Regarding Radiation after the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Systematic Qualitative Review.

The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the publications of the risk perceptions or anxiety regarding radiation among people living in Japan after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Two database (MEDLINE and PsycINFO) and hand-searched the references in identified publications were searched. For each identified publication, the measurements and time related-change of risk perception and anxiety regarding radiation were summarized.

The Relationship between Starting to Drink and Psychological Distress, Sleep Disturbance after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the prevalence of newly-started drinkers and their continuing drinking behaviors after the Great East Japan earthquake. Moreover, the relationships between newly-started drinking and psychological factor, disaster-related experience, and perceived radiation risk were examined. We used data from 37,687 pre-disaster non-drinkers who participated in the 2012 and 2013 surveys conducted in Fukushima.