title: Severe Psychological Distress of Evacuees in Evacuation Zone Caused by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has continued to affect the mental health status of residents in the evacuation zone. To examine the mental health status of evacuee after the nuclear accident, we conducted the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey as part of the ongoing Fukushima Health Management Survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured mental health status using the Kessler 6-item psychological distress scale (K6) in a total of 73,569 (response rate: 40.7%) evacuees aged 15 and over who lived in the evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture. We then dichotomized responders using a 12/13 cutoff on the K6, and compared the proportion of K6 scores ≥13 and ≤12 in each risk factor including demographic information, socioeconomic variables, and disaster-related variables. We also performed bivariate analyses between mental health status and possible risk factors using the chi-square test. Furthermore, we performed multivariate regression analysis using modified Poisson regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median K6 score was 5 (interquartile range: 1-10). The number of psychological distress was 8,717 (14.6%). We found that significant differences in the prevalence of psychological distress by almost all survey items, including disaster-related risk factors, most of which were also associated with increased Prevalence ratios (PRs). Additionally, we found that psychological distress in each evacuation zone was significantly positively associated with the radiation levels in their environment (r = 0.768, p = 0.002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident likely caused severe psychological distress among residents in the evacuation zone in Fukushima Prefecture. The close association between psychological distress and the radiation levels shows that the nuclear accident seriously influenced the mental health of the residents, which might be exacerbated by increased risk perception. To provide prompt and appropriate support, continued psychosocial intervention for evacuees is strongly recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuto
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kunii
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiga
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.|Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirooki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yabe
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.|Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yasumura
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.|Department of Disaster Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niwa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Health Management, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Otsuru
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirobumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mashiko
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D000069079:Radiation Exposure; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology