The Relationship between Starting to Drink and Psychological Distress, Sleep Disturbance after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey

Abstract

This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the prevalence of newly-started drinkers and their continuing drinking behaviors after the Great East Japan earthquake. Moreover, the relationships between newly-started drinking and psychological factor, disaster-related experience, and perceived radiation risk were examined. We used data from 37,687 pre-disaster non-drinkers who participated in the 2012 and 2013 surveys conducted in Fukushima. We defined newly-started drinkers as those who did not drink before the disaster but who began drinking after the disaster, based on information collected retrospectively. In 2012, 9.6% of non-drinkers began drinking, of which the prevalence of heavy drinkers was 18.4%. The prevalence of continued drinking among newly-started drinkers in 2013 was 53.8%. Logistic regression analyses revealed post-disaster newly-started drinking was significantly associated with being male, less than 65 years old, sleep dissatisfaction and psychological distress (Kessler 6 ≤ 13) when this model was adjusted for disaster-related experience and perceived radiation risk. Moreover, psychological distress and heavy drinking were significant risk factors for continued drinking among newly-started drinkers. Newly-started drinkers might use alcohol to cope with disaster-related stress. Thus, they may be targeted for disaster-related health services. Moreover, early intervention should encourage responsible drinking, since post-disaster heavy drinkers were likely to continue heavy drinking.

Ecological Disasters and Mental Health: Causes, Consequences, and Interventions

“…In addition to an increased use of substances to cope with distressing emotions, some people may even begin using these substances for the first time. In a study of 37,867 individuals who were non-drinkers prior to the Japan triple disaster in 2011, 9.6% reported starting drinking in 2012; among those who started drinking, 53.8% continued drinking in 2013 (17). Individuals may also isolate themselves, reducing access to available healthcare and social support resources (18).…”

Effects of Psychological and Lifestyle Factors on Metabolic Syndrome Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: The Fukushima Health Management Survey

“…Following the disaster, 9.6% of non-drinkers before the disaster began drinking, of which 18.4% were heavy drinkers. Moreover, post-disaster heavy drinkers were likely to continue heavy drinking 36) . Therefore, intake of alcohol, and in particular the amount of alcohol, should be a considered in the prevention of MetS following a disaster.…”

Risk Factors for Problem Drinking among Evacuees in Fukushima following the Great East Japan Earthquake: The Fukushima Health Management Survey

“…North et al (2011) suggested that the clinically significant risk factors for problem drinking have not been systematically evaluated, and that the development of problem drinking following disasters need to be considered in terms of both pathological and social factors. Additionally, a study conducted in the second year after this compound disaster showed that the risk factors for developing post-disaster problem drinking included being male or less than 65 years, having sleep insufficiency or psychological distress, and drinking heavily (Orui et al 2017).…”

“…A cutoff of 44 was able to correctly identify individuals with a PTSD diagnosis (Blanchard et al 1996). We used the Japanese version of the PCL-S, which was previously validated (Iwasa et al 2016;Suzuki et al 2017).…”