Social capital and cognitive decline in the aftermath of a natural disaster: a natural experiment from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We examined prospectively whether social capital mitigates the adverse effects of natural disaster on cognitive decline.

Methods

The baseline for our study was established seven months before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in a survey of older community-dwelling adults who lived 80 kilometers west of the epicenter (59.0% response rate). Approximately two and a half years after the disaster, the follow-up survey gathered information about personal experiences of disaster as well as incidence of cognitive disability (82.1% follow-up rate). Our primary outcome was cognitive disability (measured on an 8-level scale) assessed by in-home assessment.

Findings

The experience of housing damage was associated with risk of cognitive impairment (coeff

SUBMITTER: Hikichi H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5801543 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature