Long-Term Suicide Mortality Rates Decrease in Men and Increase in Women after the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake in Japan

Hyodo, Keiko; Nakamura, Kazutoshi; Oyama, Mari; Nakagawa, Izumi; Ishigami, Kazuo; Tsuchiya, Yasuo; Yamamoto, Masahiro

doi:10.1620/tjem.220.149

Cited by 36 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In contrast, female suicide rates in disaster-stricken areas increased with no significant changes following the earthquake, while suicide rates in control areas decreased. Gender-dependent changes in suicide rates in disasterstricken areas as observed in the present study were also consistent with those from previous studies in Kobe City and Niigata-Chuetsu [15,16]. A previous study, conducted in Kobe City, Japan (the disaster-stricken area of the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake), reported that male suicide rates decreased significantly two years post-disaster, whereas female suicide rates did not significantly change [15].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…A previous study, conducted in Kobe City, Japan (the disaster-stricken area of the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake), reported that male suicide rates decreased significantly two years post-disaster, whereas female suicide rates did not significantly change [15]. Likewise, male suicide rates in the Chuetsu region of Niigata decreased, while female suicide rates increased, during the 3-year period following the 2004 NiigataChuetsu Earthquake [16]. Moreover, studies in Taiwan revealed that suicide rates increased significantly following a major earthquake, with female suicide rates increasing immediately, and male suicide rates showing a delayed increase [22].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…It is thought that suicide rates in disaster-stricken areas may increase due to disaster-related mental distress, which is significantly associated with mental health problems and suicidal ideation among the general population [11][12][13][14]. However, previous studies in Japan relating to the Hanshin-Awaji and Niigata-Chuetsu earthquakes reported decreased male suicide rates for two to three years following these disasters, while female suicide rates increased or did not change significantly [15,16]. Based on this, it was assumed that changing suicide rates in disasterstricken areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake would exhibit a similar trend to those reported in previous domestic studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in suicide rates in disaster-stricken areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake and their effect on economic factors: an ecological study

Orui¹,

Harada²,

Hayashi³

2014

Environ Health Prev Med

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Objective Devastating disasters may increase suicide rates due to mental distress. Previous domestic studies have reported decreased suicide rates among men following disasters. Few reports are available regarding factors associated with disasters, making it difficult to discuss how these events affect suicide rates. This study aimed to observe changes in suicide rates in disaster-stricken and neighboring areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake, and examine associations between suicide rates and economic factors. Methods Monthly suicide rates were observed from March 2009 to February 2013, during which time the earthquake occurred on March, 2011. Data were included from disaster-stricken (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures) and neighboring (control: Aomori, Akita, and Yamagata Prefectures) areas. The association between changes in suicide rates and economic variables was evaluated based on the number of bankruptcy cases and ratio of effective job offers. Results In disaster-stricken areas, post-disaster male suicide rates decreased during the 24 months following the earthquake. This trend differed relative to control areas. Female suicide rates increased during the first seven months. Multiple regression analysis showed that bankruptcy cases (b = 0.386, p = 0.038) and ratio of effective job offers (b = -0.445, p = 0.018) were only significantly associated with male post-disaster suicide rates in control areas.Conclusion Post-disaster suicide rates differed by gender following the earthquake. Our findings suggest that considering gender differences might be important for developing future post-disaster suicide prevention measures. This ecological study revealed that increasing effective job offers and decreasing bankruptcy cases can affect protectively male suicide rates in control areas.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in suicide rates in disaster-stricken areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake and their effect on economic factors: an ecological study

Orui¹,

Harada²,

Hayashi³

2014

Environ Health Prev Med

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“…The difficult living conditions of temporary housing may have increased psychological distress more dramatically in elderly earthquake victims compared with younger victims. The situation had changed 3 years after the earthquake, by which time victims had returned home and were struggling to reconstruct their lives after financial losses [20]. In this latter situation, younger adults may experience more psychological stress than older adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social network disruption as a major factor associated with psychological distress 3 years after the 2004 Niigata–Chuetsu earthquake in Japan

Oyama

Nakamura

Suda³

et al. 2011

Environ Health Prev Med

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Objectives The 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake of Japan caused a great deal of damage, and people living in the affected region are still struggling to reconstruct their lives. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with psychological distress in people living in a town at the epicenter 3 years after the earthquake. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study from June 2007 to January 2008. Participants included 225 individuals living in Kawaguchi (age C20 years) who reported psychological symptoms. Information on family structure, employment status, alcohol use, social network, and extent of house damage was elicited by public health nurses conducting structured interviews. Levels of psychological distress were assessed with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), with a K10 score C25 defined as psychological distress. Results The mean age of participants was 66.1 ± 12.9 years. The prevalence of psychological distress varied among different employment classes, being 5/73 (6.8%) for participants with paid employment, 12/50 (24.0%) for fulltime housewives, and 11/101 (10.9%) for those who were unemployed (v 2 = 8.42, P = 0.015). It also varied between participants who had lost contact with people in the community and those who had no change in social contact [9/20 (45.0%) vs. 19/189 (10.1%), respectively; v 2 = 19.04, P \ 0.001]. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age [odds ratio (OR) 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.91-0.98], poor or loss of contact with people in the community (OR 6.97, 95% CI 1.85-26.2), and lack of employment (full-time housewives or unemployed individuals) (OR 6.74, 95% CI 1.62-28.0) were associated with psychological distress. Conclusions People who lose their social network are at a very high risk for post-earthquake psychological distress and require appropriate care.

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“…After the earthquake which is one of the most destructive natural disasters, until materialization of reconstruction, temporary housing environment has some risks like fire and infection when considered in scope of mortality (Igusa et al 2012;Zhang et al 2012). Besides, depression, postraumatic stres disorder and anxiety has been reported after earthquakes (Hyodo et al 2010;Chan et al 2012).…”

Section: Dear the Editormentioning

confidence: 99%

Deaths Due to Fires in the Tent City Set Up After the 2011 Earthquake in Van, Turkey

Hekimoğlu

Dizdar

Cantürk

et al. 2012

Tohoku J. Exp. Med.

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Long-Term Suicide Mortality Rates Decrease in Men and Increase in Women after the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake in Japan

Cited by 36 publications

References 15 publications

Changes in suicide rates in disaster-stricken areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake and their effect on economic factors: an ecological study

Changes in suicide rates in disaster-stricken areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake and their effect on economic factors: an ecological study

Social network disruption as a major factor associated with psychological distress 3 years after the 2004 Niigata–Chuetsu earthquake in Japan

Deaths Due to Fires in the Tent City Set Up After the 2011 Earthquake in Van, Turkey

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