Weight Gain in Survivors Living in Temporary Housing in the Tsunami-Stricken Area during the Recovery Phase following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Takahashi, Shuko; Yonekura, Yuki; Sasaki, Ryohei; Yokoyama, Yukari; Tanno, Kozo; Sakata, Kiyomi; Kobayashi, Seichiro; Yamamoto, Taro

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166817

Cited by 20 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The degree of housing damage experienced by survivors could be associated with the ongoing effects of the disaster, including displacement. The extant literature examining health effects after a natural disaster have mainly used data from a single time point and focused on survivors living in temporary housing [ 14 , 18 , 19 ]. Moreover, no studies have clarified the differences in lifestyle and psychosocial factors associated with frailty according to the impact of disaster damage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between health risks and frailty in relation to the degree of housing damage among elderly survivors of the great East Japan earthquake

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundMany survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011 were at risk of deteriorating health, especially elderly people living in disaster-stricken areas. The objectives of this prospective study were: a) to clarify the different lifestyle and psychosocial factors associated with frailty by sex among the non-disabled elderly survivors, and b) to describe the differences in characteristics stratified by the degree of disaster-related housing damage.MethodsWe followed 2261 Japanese survivors aged ≥65 years (45.3% male; mean age, 71.7 years) without disability or frailty who completed a self-administered questionnaire at baseline. All participants completed a baseline questionnaire in 2011 and at least one identical follow-up questionnaire between 2012 and 2015 regarding lifestyle (smoking status, alcohol intake, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, and dietary intake) and psychosocial factors (self-rated health, standard of living, psychological distress, and social networks). Frailty was defined as a score of ≥5 on the Kihon Checklist, which is used by the Japanese government to certify the need for long-term care insurance. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals with frailty as the dichotomous dependent variable and health factors as the independent variables were calculated using a multilevel model for repeated measures by sex, followed by stratification analyses by the degree of housing damage.ResultsOver the 4-year study period, 510 participants (22.6%) developed frailty. In the post-disaster setting, many of the psychosocial factors remained more prevalent 4 years later among survivors with extensive housing damage. The presence of risk factors regarding the development of frailty differed by the degree of housing damage. Among men, psychological distress, in parallel with a poor social network, was related to frailty among only the participants with extensive housing damage and those living in temporary housing, whereas among women, worsening psychological distress was associated only with no damage and no displaced survivors. Among women with extensive damage and displacement, health outcomes such as overweight and diabetes and poor social networks were strongly related to frailty.ConclusionsLifestyle and psychosocial factors associated with the risk of frailty differ by sex and the degree of housing damage.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12877-018-0828-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between health risks and frailty in relation to the degree of housing damage among elderly survivors of the great East Japan earthquake

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…By Japanese law, PHs must be used within 2 years6; however, the period was unavoidably extended in the case of the GEJE. After the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake in Japan in 1995, it took 5 years for all evacuees to move out of the PHs 31. The GEJE caused more serious damage, so we assumed that there were greater delays in reconstruction, resulting in prolonged PH stays.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between continued residence in temporary prefabricated housing and musculoskeletal pain in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake: a longitudinal study

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveProlonged periods of living in prefabricated houses (PHs) may increase the risk of musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms; however, the association is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the association between continued residence in PHs and MSK pain in a population affected by a natural disaster, the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) survivors.Design, setting and participantsA panel study was conducted including 1059 and 792 survivors at 2 and 4 years, respectively, after the GEJE, using a self-reported questionnaire. Those with no response on living status and those who did not live in a PH were excluded. Participants were classified into two groups by living status: continued residence in a PH (lived in a PH during both periods) or moving out of a PH (lived in a PH in the first period and did not live in a PH in the second).Primary outcome measureMSK pain included lower back, shoulder, knee, hand or foot, and neck pain. Changes in the occurrence of MSK pain during the two periods were assessed and defined as ‘new-onset’ and ‘continuing’ MSK pain. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the influence of continued residence in a PH on new-onset and continuing MSK pain.ResultsContinued residence in a PH was significantly associated with new-onset MSK pain, even after adjustment for covariates (adjusted OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.25 to 3.79, p=0.006). Participants who continued living in a PH had higher rates of continuing MSK pain than those who moved out; however, the difference was not significant (adjusted OR 1.69, 95% CI 0.94 to 3.05, p=0.079).ConclusionContinued residence in a PH was associated with new-onset MSK pain among survivors. Public support should be provided to such people to ensure a more comfortable life.

show abstract

“…insulated with poor airtightness, and were not sufficiently cold-resistant. 25 However, since more recent temporary homes have come equipped with properly insulated walls and double-glazed windows, they are much more airtight and less subject to intraday temperature differences. Over the long-term following a disaster, our results indicated that appropriate temporary housing could be better for avoiding excessive winter SBP surge compared with older occupant-owned housing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter morning surge in blood pressure after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Nishizawa

Fujiwara

Hoshide

et al. 2018

J of Clinical Hypertension

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The great earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami, which provoked catastrophic damage, especially in coastal regions. Almost all buildings were completely destroyed, and thousands of residents in the affected areas were forced to move from their own homes or apartments to temporary housing. Even today, more than 7 years after the disaster, many of the displaced victims continued to live in temporary housing. The quality of life in such housing may affect the health of evacuees, since temporary housing tends to be simpler, less spacious, and less comfortable than occupant-owned housing.Blood pressure (BP), including 24-hour ambulatory BP, fluctuates with the seasons and is generally higher in winter and lower in summer. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Previous studies have also demonstrated that seasonal BP variations are more highly associated with indoor temperature than outdoor temperature 8,9 and that indoor temperature is mainly determined by the temperature or permanent nature of residential housing. 4,10 Therefore, housing conditions may be one of the greatest determinants of the seasonal BP variations. However, there have been no studies investigating the association between seasonal BP variations and the nature of the residential housing in areas damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake.Elderly individuals show more highly exaggerated BP variability than younger people, mainly due to the autonomic nervous dysfunction in the former. [11][12][13][14] The elderly also show higher BP levels in the winter than in the summer, while younger individuals do not exhibit this seasonal BP difference. [15][16][17] Therefore, compared to the BP levels of young people, those of the elderly would be more likely to be changed due to differences in housing conditions; however, information is limited regarding the association between seasonal BP variations and housing conditions in the elderly.To investigate this association, we used data from the Minamisanriku study, a prospective observational study of outpatients of the Minamisanriku hospital who experienced changes in their housing status, to test our hypothesis that seasonal BP variations would be associated with housing conditions (especially This study investigated the association between winter morning surge in systolic blood pressure (SBP) as measured by ambulatory BP monitoring and the housing conditions of subjects in an area damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2013, 2 years after disaster, hypertensives who lived in homes that they had purchased before the disaster (n = 299, 74.6 ± 8.1 years) showed significant winter morning surge in SBP (+5.0 ± 20.8 mmHg, P < 0.001), while those who lived in temporary housing (n = 113, 76.2 ± 7.6 years) did not. When we divided the winter morning surge in SBP into quintiles, the factors of age ≥75 years and occupant-owned housing were significant determinants for the highest quintile (≥20 mmHg) after adjustment for covariates. The hypertensives aged ≥75 years who lived in their own homes showed a significant risk for the hi...

show abstract

Weight Gain in Survivors Living in Temporary Housing in the Tsunami-Stricken Area during the Recovery Phase following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Cited by 20 publications

References 39 publications

Association between health risks and frailty in relation to the degree of housing damage among elderly survivors of the great East Japan earthquake

Association between health risks and frailty in relation to the degree of housing damage among elderly survivors of the great East Japan earthquake

Association between continued residence in temporary prefabricated housing and musculoskeletal pain in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake: a longitudinal study

Winter morning surge in blood pressure after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About