Association between Psychological Factors and Evacuation Status and the Incidence of Cardiovascular Diseases after the Great East Japan Earthquake: A Prospective Study of the Fukushima Health Management Survey

Toshiki Sanoh, Eri Eguchi, Tetsuya Ohira, Fumikazu Hayashi, Masaharu Maeda, Seiji Yasumura, Yuriko Suzuki, Hirooki Yabe, Atsushi Takahashi, Kanae Takase, Mayumi Harigane, Takashi Hisamatsu, Keiki Ogino, Hideyuki Kanda and Kenji Kamiya
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Toshiki Sanoh: Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
Eri Eguchi: Department of Epidemiology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Tetsuya Ohira: Department of Epidemiology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Fumikazu Hayashi: Department of Epidemiology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Masaharu Maeda: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Seiji Yasumura: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Yuriko Suzuki: National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyos 187-0031, Japan
Hirooki Yabe: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Atsushi Takahashi: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Kanae Takase: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Mayumi Harigane: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Takashi Hisamatsu: Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
Keiki Ogino: Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
Hideyuki Kanda: Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
Kenji Kamiya: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: Evidence regarding the effect of psychological factors and evacuation on cardiovascular disease occurrence after large-scale disasters is limited. This prospective study followed up a total of 37,810 Japanese men and women aged 30–89 years from the Fukushima Prefecture with no history of stroke or heart disease at baseline (2012), until 2017. This period included 3000 cardiovascular events recorded through questionnaires and death certificates. The participants’ psychological distress, trauma reaction, and evacuation status were defined, and divided into four groups based on combinations of psychological factors and evacuation status. We calculated the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for only psychological, only evacuation, or both of them compared with neither using Cox proportional hazard models. Psychological factors along with evacuation resulted in approximately 5% to 25% higher magnitude of stroke and heart disease risk than psychological factors only among men. Compared to neither, the multivariable hazard ratios of those with both psychological distress and evacuation were 1.75 for stroke and 1.49 for heart disease, and those of both trauma reaction and evacuation were 2.01 and 1.57, respectively, among men. Evacuation combined with psychological factors increased the risk of stroke and heart disease risks especially in men after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Keywords: Great East Japan Earthquake; disaster; cardiovascular disease; psychological factors; evacuation; prospective study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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