title: Influence of the great East Japan earthquake and tsunami 2011 on occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases in Iwate, Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little information is available regarding the occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases after tsunamis. This study was performed to determine the influence of the tsunami damage caused by the Great East Japan earthquake on occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects from the coastline and inland areas of Iwate Prefecture who developed cerebrovascular diseases before and after the disaster were included in the analysis. Standardized incidence ratios of 2011 against the previous 3 years were calculated in two 4-week periods before and four 4-week periods after the disaster, according to stroke subtype, sex, age group, and flood damage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The standard incidence ratio for cerebrovascular diseases was 1.20 (1.00-1.40) in the first 4-week period after the disaster and was not significant in other periods. The standard incidence ratios in the first 4-week period for cerebral infarction, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage were 1.22 (0.98-1.46), 1.15 (0.76-1.55), and 1.20 (0.52-1.88), respectively. These values were 1.51 (1.19-1.88) for men, 1.35 (1.06-1.64) for subjects aged ≥ 75 years, and 1.35 (1.06-1.64) for the high flooding areas. The standard incidence ratio of cerebral infarction in the first 4-week period for men aged ≥ 75 years in the high flooding areas was 2.34 (1.34-3.34).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the areas highly flooded by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan earthquake, the occurrence of cerebral infarction among elderly men more than doubled in the first 4 weeks after the disaster.
authors: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Iwate Medical University, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka, Iwate 020-8505, Japan. somama@iwate-med.ac.jp
authors: Shinichi
authors: S
authors: Omama
authors: Yuki
authors: Y
authors: Yoshida
authors: Kuniaki
authors: K
authors: Ogasawara
authors: Akira
authors: A
authors: Ogawa
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: Ishibashi
authors: Motoyuki
authors: M
authors: Nakamura
authors: Kozo
authors: K
authors: Tanno
authors: Masaki
authors: M
authors: Ohsawa
authors: Toshiyuki
authors: T
authors: Onoda
authors: Kazuyoshi
authors: K
authors: Itai
authors: Kiyomi
authors: K
authors: Sakata
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology; D057192:Tsunamis
keywords: cerebrovascular disease; earthquake; epidemiology; stress; tsunami