Psychological distress and the perception of radiation risks: the Fukushima health management survey.

Yuriko Suzuki,Hirobumi Mashiko,Seiji Yasumura,Shin-Ichi Niwa,Masaharu Maeda,Hirooki Yabe,Masafumi Abe,Tetsuya Ohira,Akira Ohtsuru

doi:10.2471/blt.14.146498

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess relationships between the perception of radiation risks and psychological distress among evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.MethodsWe analysed cross-sectional data from a survey of evacuees conducted in 2012. Psychological distress was classified as present or absent based on the K6 scale. Respondents recorded their views about the health risks of exposure to ionizing radiation, including immediate, delayed and genetic (inherited) health effects, on a four-point Likert scale. We examined associations between psychological distress and risk perception in logistic regression models. Age, gender, educational attainment, history of mental illness and the consequences of the disaster for employment and living conditions were potential confounders.FindingsOut of the 180 604 people who received the questionnaire, we included 59 807 responses in our sample. There were 8717 respondents reporting psychological distress. Respondents who believed that radiation exposure was very likely to cause health effects were significantly more likely to be psychologically distressed than other respondents: odds ratio (OR) 1.64 (99.9% confidence interval, CI: 1.42–1.89) for immediate effects; OR: 1.48 (99.9% CI: 1.32–1.67) for delayed effects and OR: 2.17 (99.9% CI: 1.94–2.42) for genetic (inherited) effects. Similar results were obtained after controlling for individual characteristics and disaster-related stressors.ConclusionAmong evacuees of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, concern about radiation risks was associated with psychological distress.

Highlights

The Tohoku earthquake in Japan on 11 March 2011 was a triple disaster – earthquake, tsunami and nuclear incident – that had major health effects
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union led to increased mental health problems among residents, which persisted and became a public health problem.[1,2]
We examined the distribution of demographic characteristics, disasterrelated stressors, perceived risks of radiation exposure and psychological distress using χ2 tests

Summary

Introduction

The Tohoku earthquake in Japan on 11 March 2011 was a triple disaster – earthquake, tsunami and nuclear incident – that had major health effects. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union led to increased mental health problems among residents, which persisted and became a public health problem.[1,2] Likewise, a high proportion of the evacuees in Fukushima have experienced psychological distress and traumatic reactions.[3]. The complex nature of the events at Fukushima, comprising both natural and technological disasters, created an additional burden on residents’ mental health.[4] Previous research has identified factors affecting mental health following a disaster, including female gender, low-socioeconomic status, experience of severe disaster damage, poor social support, physical injuries, history of mental illness or traumatic experience and proximity to the disaster site.[5,6,7,8] Risk perception is an additional factor affecting mental health following a nuclear disaster.[9] Risk perception concerns the subjective judgment that people make about the characteristics and severity of risks

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Conclusion