Trends in the Incidence of Sudden Deaths and Heart Diseases in Fukushima After the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

On March 11, 2011, a great earthquake, known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, hit northeastern Japan, resulting in a tsunami that caused a nuclear disaster, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, forcing about 160,000 people to evacuate. We, therefore, sought to examine the effects of this evacuation on the onset of cardiovascular diseases and sudden death (SD) in Fukushima Prefecture, three years after the earthquake. We divided the evacuation zone into two areas, whole evacuation zone (Area 1) and partial evacuation zone (Area 2), and we defined the north district of the prefecture as the control area (Area 3). We cross-referenced the death certificate data with data from the Fukushima Prefecture acute myocardial infarction registration survey. For each area, we tallied the number of people who fell into the SD, myocardial infarction (MI), and MI suspected groups. We calculated the age-adjusted incidence rates and analyzed the differences in the adjusted incidence rates across three years using a Poisson regression model. The age-adjusted death rate of the SD group was significantly higher in 2011 in all areas than in 2012 or 2013 (P < 0.05). The total death rate was higher in Area 1 in March 2011, just after the disaster, than in the other two areas. The rate of SD was also higher in Area 1 than in the other areas in March 2011. The incidence of sudden cardiac death might have increased just after the Great East Japan Earthquake in the evacuation area, but not in other areas in Fukushima Prefecture.

Changes in ischemic heart disease mortality at the global level and their associations with natural disasters: A 28-year ecological trend study in 193 countries

“…The association between IHD and geophysical disasters (including earthquakes, volcanic activity and PLOS ONE mass movements) has been well studied. Takiguchi et al [16] reported significantly increased long-term (3-year) rates of mortality due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in both men and women after the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011, Japan). Similar findings were reported by Nakagawa et al [17] after the Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake (2004, Japan).…”

Association Between Positive Troponin and Fear of Earthquakes: A Retrospective Study

“…Furthermore, studies have shown a significant increase in overall mortality rates from acute myocardial infarction in disaster areas after earthquakes [ 5 , 6 ]. In addition, other studies found that the magnitude of a disaster, as well as related stress and population aging, may lead to a temporary increase in the incidence of sudden cardiac and unexpected death [ 7 , 8 ].…”

The Associations between Evacuation Status and Lifestyle-Related Diseases in Fukushima after the Great East Japan Earthquake: The Fukushima Health Management Survey

“…People who were forced to leave their homes were more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder [9,10], and approximately 4.7% of the residents in the Fukushima Prefecture lost or changed their job [11]. Previous studies have also shown that evacuees had higher risks of diabetes, heart disease, and sudden cardiac death [12,13] than non-evacuees.…”