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After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, there has been a concern about health problems among children. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of wheeze and eczema symptoms and associated factors among children in areas primarily affected by the disaster. From 2012 to 2014, we distributed the parent-administered questionnaire to 25,198 children in all 233 public schools in the 13 municipalities of Miyagi Prefecture in northeast Japan. A total of 7,155 responses (mean age 10.5 ± 2.2 years) were received (response rate: 28.4%). The prevalence of allergic symptoms according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire in 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th graders was 12.4%, 9.9%, 9.3%, and 5.6% for wheeze, and 20.1%, 18.0%, 14.0%, and 12.4% for eczema. In multivariate logistic analysis, younger age, history of hospitalization, and difficulties in children's daily lives as assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), were significantly and consistently associated with both allergic symptoms (both P < 0.05). Living in a coastal municipality was also associated with eczema symptoms (P = 0.0278). The prevalence of eczema symptoms in the 2nd (20.1%) and 8th (12.4%) grades was significantly higher than previously reported in Japan. Living in a coastal municipality was independently associated with eczema symptoms, and psychometric properties were also closely linked to allergic symptoms. These findings are clinically important for understanding the risks of allergic disorders after natural disasters.

Residents of areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake may suffer from diseases or health problems. We are conducting a cross-sectional study from 2012 to 2015 to investigate and address the health needs of schoolchildren affected by this disaster. In this paper, we describe the protocol and research perspectives of our long-term child health study, and present the results obtained immediately after the disaster. The parent-administered questionnaire includes the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire for asthma and eczema symptoms, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and a questionnaire on influenza infection and vaccination status. In 2012, we distributed the questionnaire to 3,505 (2 nd , 4 th , 6 th , and 8 th graders) in three municipalities located in southern coastal area among the 28 municipalities, and 1,277 (36.4%) returned the completed questionnaire. Mean age was 11.1 ± 2.2 years old. The number of children with symptoms of wheeze and eczema in the past 12 months was 146 (11.4%) and 199 (15.6%), respectively. The SDQ total difficulties score revealed 174 (13.6%) children with some form of difficulty in their daily lives. From May 2011 to April 2012, 195 (15.3%) and 649 (50.8%) children received the influenza vaccination once and twice, respectively, and 532 (41.7%) had suffered from influenza. The prevalence of eczema symptoms or some form of difficulty was higher than the Japanese average. However, careful interpretation was required because of potential self-selection bias from the low response rate. We will continue this study of schoolchildren to provide aggregate findings.