Citation

Suzuki S, Yoshihisa A, Kanno Y, Watanabe S, Takiguchi M, Miura S, Yokokawa T, Sato T, Oikawa M, Yamaki T, Kunii H, Nakazato K, Suzuki H, Saitoh SI, Takeishi Y. J. Card. Fail. 2016; 23(1): 90-92.

Affiliation

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.cardfail.2016.10.003

PMID

27769908

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Many residents of Fukushima Prefecture were forced to stay in temporary housing due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent nuclear power plant accident. The purpose of this study was to examine the prognostic influence in temporary housing in heart failure patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated 743 hospitalized heart failure patients from March 11, 2011 to September 30, 2014. Among all subjects, 51 patients (6.9%) moved into temporary housing after the earthquake. There were no significant differences in basal condition or echocardiographic data, but the degree of anemia and renal function was worse in patients who moved into temporary housing than in those who did not. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed the re-hospitalization rate for worsening heart failure was higher in the patients who moved into temporary housing than in those who did not (P = 0.007). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses revealed that evacuation into temporary housing was an independent predictor of re-hospitalization (P = 0.016).

CONCLUSION: Heart failure patients who moved into temporary housing after the earthquake had a higher rate of re-hospitalization. Thus, such patients should be treated carefully in addition to management of nutrition condition and mental health.

Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Language: en