Social Support Improves Mental Health among the Victims Relocated to Temporary Housing following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Koyama, Shihoko; Aida, Jun; Kawachi, Ichiro; Kondo, Naoki; Subramanian, S. V.; Ito, Katsuya; Kobashi, Gén; Masuno, Kanako; Kondo, Katsunori; Osaka, Ken

doi:10.1620/tjem.234.241

Cited by 71 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…However, one study, which investigated the effect of social support on mental health among victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami who were living in temporary shelters, also reported that participants without social support were at risk of psychological distress [45]. Although we did not use the same outcome variable, that study may support our findings if applied to victims living in temporary shelters.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Implications for Social Support on Prolonged Sleep Difficulties among a Disaster-Affected Population: Second Report from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Ishinomaki, Japan

et al. 2015

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Study ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the role of social factors, especially social support for sleep, among victims living at home around 1–2 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.DesignA cross-sectional household survey was conducted between May and December 2012 (14–21 months after the disaster) in the Ishinomaki area, Japan. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the association between social factors, including social support, and prolonged sleep difficulties (persisting over 1 month). Social support was divided into three functions: emotional, informational, and instrumental support.ParticipantsData were obtained on 2,593 individuals who were living at home after the disaster.ResultsThe prevalence of prolonged sleep difficulties was 6.9% (5.8% male, 7.7% female). This study showed that lack of social support has a stronger association with prolonged sleep difficulties than non-modifiable or hardly modifiable consequences caused directly by the disaster, i.e., severity of home damage, change in family structure and income. Among the three dimensions of social support, lack of emotional support showed the strongest association with prolonged sleep difficulties.ConclusionsSocial support, especially emotional support, may positively affect sleep among victims living at home around 1–2 years after a disaster.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Implications for Social Support on Prolonged Sleep Difficulties among a Disaster-Affected Population: Second Report from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Ishinomaki, Japan

et al. 2015

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“…The present study revealed the highest OR for insomnia in middle-aged participants (50s), which differs from that reported by previous studies, which showed that the highest prevalence of insomnia was in elderly people, majorly cause by aging. Although specific reasons for the highest prevalence of insomnia in the middle-aged group were not determined in this study, previous studies indicated that the psychological stress and depressive reactions among the disaster victims after GEJE was distinctly observed in the middle-aged group (Koyama et al 2014;Matsubara et al 2014). Evident from the delayed increase of suicide rates in middle-aged GEJE victims in the disaster-affected areas (Orui et al 2015), continuous and intensive healthcare services are worth considering in support of these people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Periodontal Disease Is Associated with Insomnia among Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake: A Panel Study Initiated Three Months after the Disaster

Tsuchiya

Aida

Hagiwara

et al. 2015

Tohoku J. Exp. Med.

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In March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), which was followed by a devastating tsunami, destroyed the societal and the public hygiene systems in Japanese coastal areas. Insomnia, the greatest issue among disaster victims, has detrimental effects on both physical and psychological health. Periodontitis causes chronic discomfort and inflammation, and little is known about its impact on insomnia. Three months after the earthquake, a health panel survey was conducted over four surveys, till September 2013, in which information regarding 8,015 adults was collected and used. In addition to the heath-related questionnaire, other variables including subjective symptoms of oral diseases were recorded, and the Athens Insomnia Scale was used to evaluate the severity of insomnia. The association between insomnia and periodontal disease was examined using multilevel logistic models on the panel data, after adjusting for sex, age, economic status, comorbidities, body mass index, post-traumatic stress reactions, habitual smoking and alcohol drinking, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale score. In addition to the higher prevalence of insomnia among GEJE victims, significant association was revealed between insomnia and gum problems (OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.43-3.26), and difficulty chewing (OR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.40-3.51), after adjusting for all covariates. The present study revealed significant association between insomnia and periodontal disease among GEJE victims. This indicated that together, integrated oral health care for disaster victims would contribute not only to prevention of oral infectious diseases, but may also help alleviate other problems caused by these harmful events.

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“…A previous mixed methods study questioned 281 survivors of the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami who had been resettled into trailer homes in the aftermath of the disaster 26 . Compared to those who moved together with other members of their community, survivors who were resettled by lottery (individual relocation) were less likely to report that they received social support from their new neighbors, and also less likely to report that they provided social support to others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social capital and cognitive decline in the aftermath of a natural disaster: a natural experiment from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Hikichi

Tsuboya

Aida

et al. 2017

The Lancet Planetary Health

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Background We examined prospectively whether social capital mitigates the adverse effects of natural disaster on cognitive decline. Methods The baseline for our study was established seven months before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in a survey of older community-dwelling adults who lived 80 kilometers west of the epicenter (59.0% response rate). Approximately two and a half years after the disaster, the follow-up survey gathered information about personal experiences of disaster as well as incidence of cognitive disability (82.1% follow-up rate). Our primary outcome was cognitive disability (measured on an 8-level scale) assessed by in-home assessment. Findings The experience of housing damage was associated with risk of cognitive impairment (coefficient = 0.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.02 to 0.06). Factor analysis of our analytic sample (n = 3,566) established two sub-scales of social capital: a cognitive dimension (perceptions of community social cohesion) and a structural dimension (informal socializing and social participation). Fixed effects regression showed that informal socializing and social participation buffered the risk of cognitive decline resulting from housing damage. Interpretation Informal socializing and social participation may prevent cognitive impairment following natural disaster. Funding National Institutes of Health (R01AG042463-04), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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Social Support Improves Mental Health among the Victims Relocated to Temporary Housing following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Cited by 71 publications

References 24 publications

Implications for Social Support on Prolonged Sleep Difficulties among a Disaster-Affected Population: Second Report from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Ishinomaki, Japan

Implications for Social Support on Prolonged Sleep Difficulties among a Disaster-Affected Population: Second Report from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Ishinomaki, Japan

Periodontal Disease Is Associated with Insomnia among Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake: A Panel Study Initiated Three Months after the Disaster

Social capital and cognitive decline in the aftermath of a natural disaster: a natural experiment from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

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