Perception of Radiation Risk as a Predictor of Mid-Term Mental Health after a Nuclear Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey

Itaru Miura, Masato Nagai, Masaharu Maeda, Mayumi Harigane, Senta Fujii, Misari Oe, Hirooki Yabe, Yuriko Suzuki, Hideto Takahashi, Tetsuya Ohira, Seiji Yasumura and Masafumi Abe
Additional contact information
Itaru Miura: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Masato Nagai: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Masaharu Maeda: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Mayumi Harigane: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Senta Fujii: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Misari Oe: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Kurume University, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan
Hirooki Yabe: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Yuriko Suzuki: Department of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan
Hideto Takahashi: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Tetsuya Ohira: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Seiji Yasumura: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Masafumi Abe: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Predictive factors including risk perception for mid-term mental health after a nuclear disaster remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between perceived radiation risk and other factors at baseline and mid-term mental health after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011 in Japan. A mail-based questionnaire survey was conducted in January 2012 and January 2013. Mental health status was assessed using the K6 scale. Psychological distress over the 2-year period was categorized into the following four groups: chronic, recovered, resistant, or worsened. Most participants (80.3%) were resistant to the disaster. A positive association was found between the radiation risk perception regarding immediate effects and the worsened group in women. Baseline post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a history of psychiatric disease predicted being in the chronic or worsened group in mid-term course. These results suggest that evacuees who believed that their health was substantially affected by the nuclear disaster were at an increased risk of having poor mid-term mental health in women. Careful assessment of risk perception after a nuclear disaster, including the presence of PTSD or a history of psychiatric disease, is needed for appropriate interventions.

Keywords: risk perception; nuclear disaster; mid-term mental health; evacuation; predictive factor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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