TY - JOUR PY - 2020// TI - Changes in drinking behavior among evacuees after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident:the Fukushima Health Management Survey JO - Fukushima journal of medical science A1 - Yagi, Akiko A1 - Maeda, Masaharu A1 - Suzuki, Yuriko A1 - Yabe, Hirooki A1 - Yasumura, Seiji A1 - Niwa, Shinichi A1 - Ohira, Tetsuya A1 - Ohtsuru, Akira A1 - Mashiko, Hirobumi A1 - Harigane, Mayumi A1 - Nakano, Hironori A1 - Abe, Masafumi A1 - Fukushima Health Survey, SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - Introduction Traumatic experiences and disordered sleep are strongly associated with drinking problems. We examined the effects of experiencing the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent nuclear power plant accident, and of sleep problems, on behavioral changes observed in non-drinkers.

METHODS This study examined cross-sectional data from the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey conducted among residents in restricted areas of Fukushima in 2012. Participants were 21,454 evacuees aged 20 years or older at the time of disaster. People who did not drink before the disaster but became drinkers afterwards were compared with the rest of the cohort. We analyzed the association between behavioral changes in non-drinkers and potentially predictive variables, using logistic regression.

RESULTS The behavioral change of non-drinkers becoming drinkers (n=2,148) was significantly related to being male (OR=1.93, 95% CI:1.74-2.15), being younger (21-49 yrs, OR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.60-2.13), having less educational attainment (up to high school graduate, OR=1.21, 95% CI:1.09-1.35), smoking (OR=1.22, 95% CI:1.08-1.38), losing family or relatives (OR=1.21, 95% CI:1.07-1.37), change in employment (OR=1.19, 95% CI:1.07-1.32), having severe sleep problems as measured by a Japanese version of the Athens Insomnia Scale (3-8, OR=1.45, 95% CI:1.30-1.62), and severity of traumatic symptoms as measured by the PTSD Checklist Stressor-Specific (PCL-S) score (<44, OR=1.33, 95% CI:1.17-1.51).

CONCLUSION Having sleep problems and having more severe traumatic symptoms are significantly related to non-drinkers becoming drinkers.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0016-2590 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5387/fms.2019-24 ID - ref1 ER -