In multiple regression analysis of these groups, the suicide rate was clearly related to the ratio of job offers (adjusted R 2 = 0.866), ratio of job offers (b = -0.808, P = 0.002), number of corporate bankruptcies (b = 0.393, P = 0.082) and tax revenue in the prefecture (b = -0.211, P = 0.348). We should pay attention not only to unemployment rates but also to the change in ratios of job offers in relation to the increase of suicide. Therefore, psychiatrists, industrial physicians, and medical staff members should take note of each patient's employment status. A N EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the Niigata-Chuetsu region of Japan on 23 October 2004 (Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake). Previous research has shown risk factors associated with developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children.1 The question of which factors prolong the PTSD symptoms, however, is still unanswered. We examined the PTSD symptoms and associated factors among children and adolescents 2 years after the Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake.The questionnaires were distributed to 2129 children and adolescents who moved into temporary housing 2 years after the Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake. The questions related to age, gender, family members, and distress after the earthquake, and 599 children (mean age: 10.8 Ϯ 2.6 years; 299 boys, 297 girls, and three gender undetermined) responded (response rate: 28.1%). Distress after the earthquake was classified into different areas, such as about their families, schoolwork, friends, damage to their houses, injury or illness, and the other. In the questionnaire, PTSD symptoms were assessed on the PostTraumatic Symptom Scale-10 (PTSS-10). 2 We measured the number of PTSD-10 symptoms that had persisted for the past 7 days and defined the children who had more than six symptoms according to the DSM-IV criteria as having 'probable PTSD'. The protocol of this study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, and all participants gave written informed consents. Two years after the earthquake, 46 children (7.7%) had probable PTSD. The children who worried about damage to their houses after the earthquake more likely developed probable PTSD than those who did not (13.3% vs 6.3%; c 2 = 4.84, P = 0.03). On multivariate logistic regression their age was significantly associated with developing probable PTSD (odds ratio: 0.75; 95% confidence interval: 0.62-0.92; P = 0.005).The present findings show that 7.7% of children were suspected of having PTSD and younger age was associated with developing PTSD symptoms. Moreover, children who worried about damage to their houses were more likely to develop probable PTSD. A previous study also reported that the younger children were more likely to develop PTSD after the earthquakes.1 In our previous study preschool children had more behavioral problems than school-aged children 5 months after the Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake.3 To prevent development and prolongation of PTSD symptoms in children and ado...

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