title: Psychiatric Outpatients After the 3.11 Complex Disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
abstract: After the 3.11 complex disaster, fear of radioactive contamination and forced evacuation influenced a number of residents to seek psychiatric care.
  
  
  
  This study assessed the sequential changes in the number of new outpatients and patients with acute stress disorder (ASD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adjustment disorder, and depression after the Fukushima disaster.
  
  
  
  We distributed questionnaires to 77 psychiatric institutions to determine the number of new outpatients between March and June in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
  
  
  
  There were 771, 1000, and 733 new patients in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. We observed a statistically significant increase in new patients with ASD or PTSD and a significant decrease in patients with depression in 2011, which returned to predisaster levels in 2012.
  
  
  
  There were time- and disease-dependent changes in the numbers of psychiatric care-seeking individuals after the 3.11 complex disaster in Fukushima.
authors.affiliation: Department of Disaster and Comprehensive Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan. Electronic address: arinobu.h@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Arinobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Itaru
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hisamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuntaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Itagaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Psychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuto
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kunii
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Junya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirobumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mashiko
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Craig L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirooki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Niwa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006306:Health Surveys; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D015995:Prevalence; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D057192:Tsunamis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fukushima; acute stress disorder; adjustment disorder; depression; disaster; evacuation; nuclear power plant accident; post-traumatic stress disorder