Mental Health Recovery of Evacuees and Residents from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident after Seven Years—Contribution of Social Network and a Desirable Lifestyle

Abstract

The 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident resulted in the exposure to radiation and evacuation, which has created psychological distress among the Fukushima residents. With the provision of multi-faceted support and the progress of the reconstruction, their mental health has appeared to show signs of recovery. However, there have been few studies investigating their recovery. To clarify the related factors associated with mental health recovery, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. Subjects whose answers were associated with Resilience, Recovery, and Remitting patterns of mental health status were categorized in the Recovery group, while those associated with Delayed/Chronic dysfunction were placed in the Non-recovered group. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, disaster-related unemployment (odds ratio (OR): 0.80, 95% CI (confidence interval): 0.65–0.99) and economic hardship (OR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.65–0.98) were associated with the hindrance of recovery. In contrast, overall good health (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.20–1.80), regular physical activity (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.01–1.50), social interaction with friends (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.00–1.55), and established social roles (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.14–1.82) were associated with the promotion of recovery. In conclusion, our study showed a positive association between mental health recovery and a desirable lifestyle and social network, particularly with social roles. Thus, the provision of active social roles can promote recovery related to a disaster as with multi-faceted support.

Current Psychological Distress, Post-traumatic Stress, and Radiation Health Anxiety Remain High for Those Who Have Rebuilt Permanent Homes Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

“…Under the present reconstruction conditions, evacuees can choose to return to their original home in the ex-evacuation area or live in a new location outside of the ex-evacuation area. A previous study reported that 80% of evacuees had recovered their prior mental health status, compared to 84.4% for those who had lived in the non-evacuation area [ 13 ]. Moreover, returnees who have returned to their original home show a significantly better psychological distress status when compared to evacuees [ 14 ].…”

Trends in Suicide Mortality in 10 Years around the Great East Japan Earthquake: Analysis of Evacuation and Non-Evacuation Areas in Fukushima Prefecture

“…During this period, evacuees were forced to make difficult choices of whether to return or not, which increased their psychological burden. The lifting of the evacuation order (over wider areas than before) from March to April 2017 is thought to have triggered a decline in the number of evacuees and a decline in social networks [ 28 ]. These results suggest that when life changes once again after a disaster, such as with the lifting of evacuation orders, it is necessary to screen people at risk of suicide at an early stage and link them to support mechanisms, and long-term follow-up is necessary for women.…”

Those Who Have Continuing Radiation Anxiety Show High Psychological Distress in Cases of High Post-Traumatic Stress: The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

“…According to previous studies conducted following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, participating regularly in physical activity was significantly associated with maintaining a healthy mental health status among employees, even in harsh workplace conditions [17]. Moreover, regular physical activity is associated with the promotion of mental health recovery [18]. According to the multivariate analysis, subjective sleep insufficiency and drinking problems 3 years after the accident were associated with the severity of psychological distress [30].…”

“…According to previous studies, these variables were associated with residents' mental health status in Fukushima. Therefore, we selected these variables as independent variables in the present study [13,17,18].…”