The longitudinal mental health impact of Fukushima nuclear disaster exposures and public criticism among power plant workers: the Fukushima NEWS Project study

Abstract

BackgroundThe Fukushima Daiichi and Daini Nuclear Power Plant workers experienced multiple stressors as both victims and onsite workers after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent nuclear accidents. Previous studies found that disaster-related exposures, including discrimination/slurs, were associated with their mental health. Their long-term impact has yet to be investigated.MethodA total of 968 plant workers (Daiichi, n = 571; Daini, n = 397) completed self-written questionnaires 2–3 months (time 1) and 14–15 months (time 2) after the disaster (response rate 55.0%). Sociodemographics, disaster-related experiences, and peritraumatic distress were assessed at time 1. At time 1 and time 2, general psychological distress (GPD) and post-traumatic stress response (PTSR) were measured, respectively, using the K6 scale and Impact of Event Scale Revised. We examined multivariate covariates of time 2 GPD and PTSR, adjusting for autocorrelations in the hierarchical multiple regression analyses.ResultsHigher GPD at time 2 was predicted by higher GPD at time 1 (β = 0.491, p < 0.001) and discrimination/slurs experiences at time 1 (β = 0.065, p = 0.025, adjusted R2 = 0.24). Higher PTSR at time 2 was predicted with higher PTSR at time 1 (β = 0.548, p < 0.001), higher age (β = 0.085, p = 0.005), and discrimination/slurs experiences at time 1 (β = 0.079, p = 0.003, adjusted R2 = 0.36).ConclusionsHigher GPD at time 2 was predicted by higher GPD and discrimination/slurs experience at time 1. Higher PTSR at time 2 was predicted by higher PTSR, higher age, and discrimination/slurs experience at time 1.

Peritraumatic distress: A review and synthesis of 15 years of research

“…Hiar et al (2016) found the PDI to be correlated with PCL scores at 12 months in bivariate but not in multivariate analyses. Finally, Tanisho et al (2016) found the PDI to be associated with IES-R at baseline (2-3 months postevent) but not at follow-up (14-15 months postevent).…”

“…Finally, Tanisho et al. () found the PDI to be associated with IES‐R at baseline (2–3 months postevent) but not at follow‐up (14–15 months postevent).…”

“…Hiar et al.’s study () of individuals after the Arab Spring riots in Tunisia found that the PDI was not independently associated with somatic symptoms as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) at 12 months in multiple regression analysis. Finally, Tanisho et al.’s study () of survivors of two nuclear power plant accidents found that the PDI predicted psychological distress as assessed by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) at baseline but not at a follow‐up interval of 14–15 months.…”

“…On the other hand, these studies’ findings stand in contrast to those of multiple other studies in our review showing an association between peritraumatic distress and PTSD up to several years after the traumatic event occurred. Additionally, five of the 10 studies demonstrated no association between peritraumatic distress and a psychiatric outcome other than PTSD—namely, posttraumatic growth (McCaslin et al., ); oral control, dieting, and composite disordered eating symptoms (Rodgers et al., ); somatic symptoms (Hiar et al., ); and psychological distress (Tanisho et al., ). This raises the question of whether peritraumatic distress is as robust of a risk factor for the development of psychiatric sequelae other than PTSD, although of note two other studies (Kunst, ; Nishi et al., ) did find an association between peritraumatic distress and posttraumatic growth.…”

Noncommunicable Diseases After the Great East Japan Earthquake: Systematic Review, 2011–2016

“…People who had the following characteristics or status were likely to have psychological distress: female, lost their family members, experienced residential damage, had anxiety about radioactive contamination, had difficult economic status, and had weak social support. [90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][117][118][119][120]122,[124][125][126][127][128][129][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140]143,144,147,151,152,155 Psychological effects of the...…”