title: Emergency Responses and Health Consequences after the Fukushima Accident; Evacuation and Relocation.
abstract: The Fukushima accident was a compounding disaster following the strong earthquake and huge tsunami. The direct health effects of radiation were relatively well controlled considering the severity of the accident, not only among emergency workers but also residents. Other serious health issues include deaths during evacuation, collapse of the radiation emergency medical system, increased mortality among displaced elderly people and public healthcare issues in Fukushima residents. The Fukushima mental health and lifestyle survey disclosed that the Fukushima accident caused severe psychological distress in the residents from evacuation zones. In addition to psychiatric and mental health problems, there are lifestyle-related problems such as an increase proportion of those overweight, an increased prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia and changes in health-related behaviours among evacuees; all of which may lead to an increased cardiovascular disease risk in the future. The effects of a major nuclear accident on societies are diverse and enduring. The countermeasures should include disaster management, long-term general public health services, mental and psychological care, behavioural and societal support, in addition to efforts to mitigate the health effects attributable to radiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan. Electronic address: hase@fmu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohira
authors.affiliation: Department of Disaster Psychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yasumura
authors.affiliation: Fukushima Global Medical Science Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D008603:Mental Health; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D011830:Radiation Effects; D018635:Rescue Work; D057192:Tsunamis
keywords: Evacuation; health effects; medical response; mental effects; nuclear accident; relocation