title: Mental health distress and related factors among prefectural public servants seven months after the great East Japan Earthquake.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To develop an empirically informed support measure for workers, we examined mental health distress and its risk factors among prefectural public servants who were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and faced a demanding workload in the midterm of the disaster.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a self-administered health survey of all public servants in the Miyagi prefectural government two and seven months after the Great East Japan Earthquake (3743 workers, 70.6% of all employees). We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mental distress (defined as K6 score ≥10) in the domain of disaster-work-related stressors, work-related stressors, and disaster-related stressors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among those with better levels of workplace communication, the only factor that increased the risk of mental distress was not taking a non-work day each week (adjusted OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.27-5.14). Among those with poorer levels of workplace communication, in addition to not taking a non-work day each week (adjusted OR 3.93, 95% CI 3.00-5.15), handling residents' complaints (adjusted OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.00-2.42), having dead or missing family members (adjusted OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.53-5.38), and living in a shelter more than two months after the disaster (adjusted OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.32-5.95) increased the risk of mental distress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All workers should be encouraged to take a non-work day each week. Among workers with poor workplace communication, special attention should be given to those who handle residents' complaints, have lost a family member(s), and are living in a shelter for a prolonged period of time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry.
authors.forename: Yuriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Maiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukasawa
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Obara
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017150:Public Sector; D012066:Relief Work; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult