Protocol and Research Perspectives of the ToMMo Child Health Study after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

Residents of areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake may suffer from diseases or health problems. We are conducting a cross-sectional study from 2012 to 2015 to investigate and address the health needs of schoolchildren affected by this disaster. In this paper, we describe the protocol and research perspectives of our long-term child health study, and present the results obtained immediately after the disaster. The parent-administered questionnaire includes the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire for asthma and eczema symptoms, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and a questionnaire on influenza infection and vaccination status. In 2012, we distributed the questionnaire to 3,505 (2 nd , 4 th , 6 th , and 8 th graders) in three municipalities located in southern coastal area among the 28 municipalities, and 1,277 (36.4%) returned the completed questionnaire. Mean age was 11.1 ± 2.2 years old. The number of children with symptoms of wheeze and eczema in the past 12 months was 146 (11.4%) and 199 (15.6%), respectively. The SDQ total difficulties score revealed 174 (13.6%) children with some form of difficulty in their daily lives. From May 2011 to April 2012, 195 (15.3%) and 649 (50.8%) children received the influenza vaccination once and twice, respectively, and 532 (41.7%) had suffered from influenza. The prevalence of eczema symptoms or some form of difficulty was higher than the Japanese average. However, careful interpretation was required because of potential self-selection bias from the low response rate. We will continue this study of schoolchildren to provide aggregate findings.

Eczema and Asthma Symptoms among Schoolchildren in Coastal and Inland Areas after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake: The ToMMo Child Health Study

“…However, 8th graders participated in the study to a lesser extent compared with the other students. This finding was also reported in our previous study (Kikuya et al 2015). This could be due to parents or guardians of students in the upper grades being less motivated to participate in health research after a disaster than parents of students in the lower grades.…”

“…Details of the study project have been described previously (Kikuya et al 2015). Although data collection had been completed in all 28 municipalities, at the time of preparing this manuscript, data were only available for the following 13: Shiroishi, Natori, Kakuda, Iwanuma, Zao, Shichikashuku, Ogawara, Murata, Shibata, Kawasaki, Marumori, Watari, and Yamamoto.…”

“…Few studies on wheeze and eczema symptoms among schoolchildren after a natural disaster have been conducted. Therefore, we conducted a large-scale cross-sectional study of health among schoolchildren using a standardized epidemiological questionnaire, the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, to examine the prevalence of wheeze and eczema symptoms and associated factors among schoolchildren in disasteraffected areas (Kikuya et al 2015).…”

The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project: Design and Mission

“…35 Through our two prospective cohort studies and one cross-sectional study, we are able to assess the health status of residents of all ages, from fetuses to elderly persons. Including all ages is necessary because persons of all ages have been affected by the GEJE and will demand advanced medicine for potentially increasing diseases in the near future.…”

“…35 This study aimed to investigate and support the health needs of schoolchildren affected by the GEJE. We asked all 35 municipal school boards in Miyagi Prefecture to participate in the study, and 28 of those agreed.…”