Citation

Oe M, Takahashi H, Maeda M, Harigane M, Fujii S, Miura I, Nagai M, Yabe H, Ohira T, Suzuki Y, Yasumura S, Abe M. Asia Pac. J. Public Health 2017; 29(Suppl 2): 182S-192S.

Affiliation

Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1010539516680733

PMID

28330395

Abstract

The longitudinal posttraumatic stress responses and resilient factors after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are yet unknown. Here we attempted to quantify the patterns of the course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and we explored the factors associated with psychological recovery. The subjects were 12 371 residents in the municipalities categorized as the forced evacuated area. We categorized the subjects' PTSD symptoms into 4 groups: Chronic, Resistant, Recovered, and Non-recovered. We applied a logistic regression to clarify the factors related to psychological recovery. We observed that laughter showed significant odds ratio in the Recovered group and the Resistant group. Meanwhile, elderly residents and those with poor living circumstances showed significant odds ratios for the Recovered group and the Resistant group. Laughter in daily life was associated with the psychological health in the evacuation area.

Language: en

Keywords

disaster psychiatry; laughter; nuclear disaster; posttraumatic stress; psychological health