Mental disorders that exacerbated due to the Fukushima disaster, a complex radioactive contamination disaster

Aim The Fukushima disaster was caused by an earthquake that occurred on 11 March 2011. Following the serious damage caused by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, radioactive contamination occurred because of the meltdown accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. We investigated what ment...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2014-03, Vol.68 (3), p.182-187
Main Authors: Matsumoto, Junya, Kunii, Yasuto, Wada, Akira, Mashiko, Hirobumi, Yabe, Hirooki, Niwa, Shin‐ichi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
bipolar disorder
Child
community psychiatry
disaster psychiatry
Earthquakes
Female
Fukushima Nuclear Accident
Humans
Japan
Male
mania
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Mental Disorders - psychology
Middle Aged
Nuclear power plants
radioactive hazard release
Severity of Illness Index
Tsunamis
Young Adult
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Aim The Fukushima disaster was caused by an earthquake that occurred on 11 March 2011. Following the serious damage caused by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, radioactive contamination occurred because of the meltdown accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. We investigated what mental disorders were likely to become exacerbated under these conditions. Methods We surveyed psychiatric outpatients at Fukushima Medical University Hospital for 1 month (31 days) from the day of the earthquake (March–April 2011). Results The survey revealed that bipolar I disorder was most likely to become exacerbated under the conditions and that the exacerbation exhibited was more likely to involve manic switches than depression. Conclusion On the basis of the results of our study, particular care must be taken to follow up bipolar I disorder patients after a natural disaster. Our results also suggested the possible origin of bipolar I disorder.
ISSN:1323-1316
1440-1819
DOI:10.1111/pcn.12112