Impact of Evacuation on Lifestyle Activity and Metabolic Status Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

On March 11, 2011, Kawauchi Village, in Fukushima Prefecture, was struck by both the Tohoku earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, with subsequent evacuation. One year later, in April 2012, villagers began to return. In the previous studies, increases in metabolic diseases were noted; here, we compared the prevalence of metabolically unhealthy conditions among evacuee and non-evacuee populations located nearby, namely Miharu and Ono Towns. This is a retrospective study using health examination data comparing health and health changes prior to the 2011 disaster (2008–2010: baseline) to the post-disaster period (2012–2015). 3451 residents who attended annual health checkups both between 2008 and 2010 and after 2011 made up the study population (599 evacuees and 2852 non-evacuees, collectively “baseline”). Disease states examined in this study included diabetes mellitus (DM) and borderline DM, polycythemia, hypertension, obesity, as well as exercise and smoking habits. We confirmed increases in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and polycythemia, which continue even 4 years after the FDNPP accident in the evacuee population, when compared to age- and gender-matched neighborhood populations. On qualitative questionnaire, evacuees were noted to have a higher rate of habitual exercise. The reasons for this shift in population health remain under investigation, but may involve a shift from active to sedentary lifestyle in the evacuee population that cannot be compensated for by increased exercise habit.