Evacuation after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident Is a Cause of Diabetes: Results from the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Hiroaki Satoh,Gen Kobashi,Shunichi Yamashita,Akira Ohtsuru,Tetsuya Ohira,Hitoshi Suzuki,Atsushi Takahashi,Tsuyoshi Watanabe,Akira Sakai,Seiji Yasumura,Mitsuaki Hosoya,Masafumi Abe,Yukihiko Kawasaki,Kotaro Ozasa,Kenji Kamiya

doi:10.1155/2015/627390

Abstract

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 forced the evacuation of a large number of residents and created changes in the lifestyle of the evacuees. These changes may have affected the evacuees' glucose metabolism, thereby leading to an increase in the incidence of diabetes. This study included Japanese men and women who were living near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima prefecture before the disaster. Subjects subsequently underwent annual health checkups with a focus on metabolic syndromes, which were conducted under the Health Care Insurers. Using the Comprehensive Health Check survey, we analyzed changes in the glucose metabolism before and after the disaster. A total of 27,486 subjects underwent follow-up examinations after the disaster, with a mean follow-up period of 1.6 years. After the disaster, the prevalence of diabetes increased significantly, and we observed that the incidence of diabetes was significantly greater among evacuees than among nonevacuees. Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that evacuation was significantly associated with the incidence of diabetes. In conclusion, this is the first study to demonstrate that evacuation is associated with the incidence of diabetes. This information may be used to guide follow-up recommendations for evacuees.

Highlights

IntroductionOn March 11, 2011, an earthquake (the Great East Japan Earthquake) occurred off the eastern cost of Japan
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake occurred off the eastern cost of Japan
Subjects included in the survey were Japanese men and women who were living near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima prefecture at the time of the disaster and who were residents of Tamura, Minami-Soma, Kawamata, Hirono, Naraha, Tomioka, Kawauchi, Okuma, Futaba, Namie, Katsurao, Iitate, and Date

Summary

Introduction

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake (the Great East Japan Earthquake) occurred off the eastern cost of Japan. It generated a tsunami, which struck the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and subsequently released radiation into the Fukushima prefecture. The Fukushima prefecture launched the Fukushima Health Management Survey to investigate the effects of the long-term, low-dose radiation exposure caused by the disaster [1]. The survey comprises a basic survey, which estimates the individual radiation exposure for each resident and four detailed surveys, which include a Comprehensive Health Check, thyroid ultrasonography, mental health and lifestyle survey, and a survey of pregnant women and nursing mothers [1]. The Comprehensive Heath Check was implemented to facilitate the early detection and treatment of radiation-related disease as well as help prevent lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases

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Results

Conclusion