The Relationship between Starting to Drink and Psychological Distress, Sleep Disturbance after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

ABSTRACT: This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the prevalence of newly-started drinkers and their continuing drinking behaviors after the Great East Japan earthquake. Moreover, the relationships between newly-started drinking and psychological factor, disaster-related experience, and perceived radiation risk were examined. We used data from 37,687 pre-disaster non-drinkers who participated in the 2012 and 2013 surveys conducted in Fukushima. We defined newly-started drinkers as those who did not drink before the disaster but who began drinking after the disaster, based on information collected retrospectively. In 2012, 9.6% of non-drinkers began drinking, of which the prevalence of heavy drinkers was 18.4%. The prevalence of continued drinking among newly-started drinkers in 2013 was 53.8%.

SUBMITTER: Orui M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5664781 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature