(Press-News.org) CHICAGO – The results of two studies in the August 15 issue of JAMA report on the psychological status of workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan several months after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, and the amount of internal radiation exposure among residents of a city north of the power plant that experienced a meltdown.
As reported in a Research Letter, Jun Shigemura, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Defense Medical College, Saitama, Japan, and colleagues examined the psychological status of Fukushima workers 2 to 3 months after the disaster for symptoms of general psychological distress, including posttraumatic stress response (PTSR). The study included all full-time workers from the Daiichi plant (n = 1,053; plant experienced meltdown) and Daini plant (n = 707; plant experienced damage but remained intact) in May and June 2011. Using a self-report questionnaire, the researchers assessed sociodemographic characteristics and disaster-related experiences, including discrimination/slurs because the electric company that managed these plants was criticized for their disaster response and the workers have been targets of discrimination. Measures of general psychological distress included feeling nervous, hopeless, restless/fidgety, depressed, and worthless in the last 30 days.
Of 1,760 eligible workers, 1,495 (85 percent) participated (Daiichi: n = 885 [84 percent]; Daini: n = 610 [86 percent]). The authors found that compared with Daini workers, Daiichi workers were more often exposed to disaster-related stressors. Experiencing discrimination or slurs was not statistically significantly different between groups (14 percent vs. 11 percent). The researchers found that general psychological distress and PTSR were common in nuclear plant workers 2 to 3 months after the disaster. "Daiichi workers had significantly higher rates of psychological distress (47 percent vs. 37 percent) and PTSR (30 percent vs. 19 percent). For both groups, discrimination or slurs were associated with high psychological distress and high PTSR. Other significant associations in both groups included tsunami evacuation and major property loss with psychological distress and pre-existing illness and major property loss with PTSR."
(JAMA. 2012;308[7]:667-669. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)
Editor's Note: This work was supported by Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants from the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare of Japan. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, etc.
Study Finds Low Levels of Radiation Exposure to Residents of City North of Meltdown
In another Research Letter, Masaharu Tsubokura, M.D., of the University of Tokyo, and colleagues conducted a study to gauge the level of radiation exposure to residents of the city of Minamisoma, located 14 miles north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. "Release of radioactive material into the air, water, and soil raised concern about internal radiation exposure and the long-term risk of cancer in nearby residents," they write.
Many residents were evacuated after the meltdown, but by August 2011, approximately half had returned. A voluntary screening program for levels of cesium, known to be representative of total internal radiation exposure, was conducted between September 2011 and March 2012 for all residents ages 6 years or older. Total cesium exposure was converted into committed effective dose (sievert, Sv). Common dose-limit recommendations for the public are 1 mSv or less. A total of 9,498 residents enrolled in the study, 24 percent of the registered population on August 15, 2011. The sample consisted of 1,432 children and 8,066 adults. A total of 3,286 individuals (34.6 percent) had detectable levels of cesium, including 235 children (16.4 percent) and 3,051 adults (37.8 percent). Committed effective doses were less than 1 mSv in all but 1 resident (1.07 mSv).
"To our knowledge, this is the first report on internal exposure to cesium radiation after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant incident. In this sample, exposure levels were low in most adults and children tested and much lower than those reported in studies years after the Chernobyl incident. Even the highest levels of contamination observed are below the thresholds for the administration of Prussian blue [an antidote used in the treatment of cesium poisoning]," the authors write.
The researchers note that because this screening program started 6 months after the nuclear power plant disaster, higher exposure levels might have been detected earlier, and that it is not possible to ascertain whether the low levels of exposure were due to low ongoing exposure or decay from high exposure values. "Because data were collected from volunteers, the results may not be representative of the entire population in contaminated areas. No case of acute health problems has been reported so far; however, assessments of the long-term effect of radiation requires ongoing monitoring of exposure and the health conditions of the affected communities."
(JAMA. 2012;308[7]:669-670. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)
Editor's Note: All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none were reported.
###
To contact the corresponding author for the first study, Takeshi Tanigawa, M.D., Ph.D., email tt9178tt9178@gmail.com. To contact the corresponding author for the second study, Masaharu Tsubokura, M.D., email tsubokura-tky@umin.ac.jp.
END
CHICAGO – In a study that included more than 2,700 women receiving care in primary care clinics, those who were screened for partner violence and received a partner violence resource list did not experience significant differences for several outcomes, including overall quality of life, general health, and recurrence of partner violence, compared to women who just received a partner violence resource list, according to a study in the August 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
"Recognition of partner violence as a health and public health problem ...
People with blood type A, B, or AB had a higher risk for coronary heart disease when compared to those with blood type O, according to new research published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal.
People in this study with the rarest blood type — AB, found in about 7 percent of the U.S. population — had the highest increased heart disease risk at 23 percent. Those with type B had an 11 percent increased risk, and those with type A had a 5 percent increased risk. About 43 percent of Americans have type O blood.
"While ...
Computer and web-based weight management programmes may provide a cost effective way of addressing the growing problem of obesity, according to a team of seven researchers who undertook a Cochrane systematic review. The researchers, from Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, USA, found that delivering weight loss or weight maintenance programmes online or by computer helped overweight and obese patients lose and/or maintain weight.
Being overweight or obese can increase a person's risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke ...
Compounds in cocoa may help to reduce blood pressure, according to a new systematic review in The Cochrane Library. The researchers reviewed evidence from short-term trials in which participants were given dark chocolate or cocoa powder daily and found that their blood pressure dropped slightly compared to a control group.
Cocoa contains compounds called flavanols, thought to be responsible for the formation of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide causes blood vessel walls to relax and open wider, thereby reducing blood pressure. The link between cocoa and blood pressure ...
Exercise may improve quality of life for people with cancer, according to Cochrane researchers. In two separate Cochrane systematic reviews, the authors gathered together evidence showing that activities such as walking and cycling can benefit those who are undergoing or have completed treatment for cancer.
People with cancer suffer from many different physical, psychological and social effects related to cancer, as well as treatment-related symptoms. There has been much interest in the effects of exercise on physical and psychological well-being in people with cancer. ...
Cold Spring Harbor, NY – A team led by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has developed a new way of making animal models for a broad class of human genetic diseases – those with pathology caused by errors in the splicing of RNA messages copied from genes. To date, about 6,000 such RNA "editing" errors have been found in various human illnesses, ranging from neurodegenerative disorders to cancer.
The new modeling approach can provide unique insights into how certain diseases progress and is likely to boost efforts to develop novel treatments. It was ...
Nurse-centred care of HIV patients can be just as safe and effective as care delivered by doctors and has a number of specific health benefits, according to a new study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Cape Town (UCT).
Published today in The Lancet, the research shows that neither survival rates nor virus suppression reduced when nurses administered antiretroviral drugs to patients in South Africa. Health benefits included: significantly improved detection of tuberculosis; increased white blood cell count; increased weight; and improved ...
Financial incentives (pay for performance) schemes for health professionals "can undermine motivation and worsen performance" warn US experts in an editorial published on bmj.com today. They also say that gaming of the system is rife.
Their views are published alongside an analysis of the positive and negative effects of financial incentives led by Professor Paul Glasziou of Bond University in Australia.
Glasziou and colleagues describe the current evidence on the effectiveness of financial incentives as "modest and inconsistent" and say that, although reward schemes ...
Certain medical students may be more likely to stay in their own countries or work in rural areas of their own countries when they qualify as doctors, suggests a study published on bmj.com today.
Given that many low income countries have insufficient doctors to meet their needs, particularly in rural areas, the authors suggest that policy makers could use this evidence to adjust entrance criteria for medical schools that favour subsequent practice in less well served areas of their country.
Previous studies have shown that, in high income countries, doctors with rural ...
A paper published on bmj.com today suggests that over 1000 people have committed suicide due to the 2008-2010 economic recession in the UK (846 men and 155 women).
Suicides began to rise in the UK in 2008 following 20 years of decline - suicides rose 8% among men and 9% among women in 2008, compared to 2007. And even though suicides did begin to fall in 2010 figures were still above the 2007 averages.
Previous studies have concluded that unemployment does increase the risk of suicide and non-fatal self-harm but while suicides tend to increase during economic downturns, ...
