scholarly journals Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on the Employment Status and Mental Health Conditions of Affected Coastal Communities

Author(s):  
Mitsuaki Katayanagi ◽  
Moe Seto ◽  
Naoki Nakaya ◽  
Tomohiro Nakamura ◽  
Naho Tsuchiya ◽  
...  

The Great East Japan Earthquake devasted the old community in coastal areas characterized by primary industry. The number of unemployed people increased from 150,000 to 190,000 after the earthquake. All of the adult residents of Shichigahama (18 years old or older), located in the coastal area of the Miyagi prefecture, whose houses were totally or majorly damaged, were recruited for a survey conducted in October 2011. All of the residents who responded with written informed consent were included in this study. Among 904 individuals who had a job before the Great East Japan Earthquake, 19% became unemployed. Concerning gender and age, 9% of young men, 34% of elderly men, 21% of young women, and 49% of elderly women became unemployed. Concerning the type of industry, 38%, 15%, and 16% of people who had belonged to the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, respectively, before the disaster became unemployed. Those who became unemployed exhibited a significantly higher risk of insomnia compared to those who maintained jobs. The study pointed out the severe impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on populations who had belonged to the primary industry, especially among elderly women, and its effect on sleep conditions.

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 824-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajime Kanamori ◽  
Hiroyuki Kunishima ◽  
Koichi Tokuda ◽  
Mitsuo Kaku

2021 ◽  
pp. 014107682199997
Author(s):  
Vahé Nafilyan ◽  
Nazrul Islam ◽  
Daniel Ayoubkhani ◽  
Clare Gilles ◽  
Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi ◽  
...  

Objective To estimate the proportion of ethnic inequalities explained by living in a multi-generational household. Design Causal mediation analysis. Setting Retrospective data from the 2011 Census linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (2017-2019) and death registration data (up to 30 November 2020). Participants Adults aged 65 years or over living in private households in England from 2 March 2020 until 30 November 2020 (n=10,078,568). Main outcome measures Hazard ratios were estimated for COVID-19 death for people living in a multi-generational household compared with people living with another older adult, adjusting for geographic factors, socioeconomic characteristics and pre-pandemic health. Results Living in a multi-generational household was associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 death. After adjusting for confounding factors, the hazard ratios for living in a multi-generational household with dependent children were 1.17 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06–1.30) and 1.21 (95% CI 1.06–1.38) for elderly men and women. The hazard ratios for living in a multi-generational household without dependent children were 1.07 (95% CI 1.01–1.13) for elderly men and 1.17 (95% CI 1.07–1.25) for elderly women. Living in a multi-generational household explained about 11% of the elevated risk of COVID-19 death among elderly women from South Asian background, but very little for South Asian men or people in other ethnic minority groups. Conclusion Elderly adults living with younger people are at increased risk of COVID-19 mortality, and this is a contributing factor to the excess risk experienced by older South Asian women compared to White women. Relevant public health interventions should be directed at communities where such multi-generational households are highly prevalent.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dandan Guo ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Changqing Zhan ◽  
Qiuxing Lin ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Obesity is a potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment. However, sex-specific relationships between obesity and cognitive impairment in late life remain unclear.Objective: We aimed to assess sex differences in the association between various obesity parameters and cognitive impairment in a low-income elderly population in rural China.Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted to collect basic information from elderly residents aged 60 years and older from April 2014 to August 2014 in rural areas of Tianjin, China. Obesity parameters, including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), and Mini Mental State Examination scores were measured, and the relationships between these variables were assessed.Results: A total of 1,081 residents with a mean age of 67.70 years were enrolled in this study. After adjusting for age, educational attainment, smoking status, drinking status, physical exercise participation, and the presence of diabetes and hyperlipidemia, blood pressure group; a high BMI was found to be associated with an increased prevalence of cognitive impairment in elderly women. Each 1-unit increase in BMI was associated with a 5.9% increase in the prevalence of cognitive impairment. WC was related to the prevalence of cognitive impairment in elderly men, and each 1-cm increase in WC was associated with a 4.0% decrease in the prevalence of cognitive impairment. However, there were no significant associations between WC and cognitive function in women or between BMI and cognitive impairment in men.Conclusion: A greater WC was positively associated with better cognitive function in low-income elderly men in rural China, whereas a higher BMI was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment in elderly women, independent of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related comorbid factors. Our results suggest weight management of elderly women in rural China may have cognitive benefits. However, randomized controlled trials would be needed to confirm causality.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prisilia M. Pinontoan ◽  
Sylvia R. Marunduh ◽  
Herlina I. S. Wungouw

Abstract: The aim of this study was to find out the profile of muscle strength on elderly at BPLU Senja Cerah Paniki Bawah. This was a descriptive study with cross sectional design. There were 26 respondents who met the inclusion criteria, consisted of 10 elderly men and 16 elderly women. Respondents were selected by using purposive sampling method. The measurements of the muscle strength were done by using 1 RM method while doing elbow flexion, elbow extension, shoulder flexion, shoulder extension, shoulder abduction, knee flexion, knee extension and dorsoflexion. Data were analyzed manually and computerized then presented in tabular form. The result shows that the average muscle strength in elderly men were greater than women and the average muscle strength of respondents that were included in the age group 60-79 years old were greater than those in 80-99 years.Keywords: muscle strength, elderly.1 RMAbstrak: Tujuan dari penelitian ini yaitu untuk mengetahui gambaran kekuatan otot pada Lansia di BPLU Senja Cerah Paniki Bawah. Penelitian ini merupakan peneliltian deskriptif dengan rancangan potong lintang. Responden yang memenuhi kriteria inklusi terdiri dari 26 orang yang terdiri dari 10 orang laki-laki dan 16 orang perempuan. Sampel dipilih menggunakan cara purposive sampling. Kekuatan otot pada lansia diukur dengan menggunakan metode 1 RM yang diukur pada gerakan fleksi siku, ekstensi siku, fleksi bahu, ekstensi bahu, abduksi bahu, fleksi lutut, ekstensi lutut serta dorsofleksi. Data yang sudah didapatkan kemudian dikumpul dan diolah secara manual dan komputerisasi serta disajikan dalam bentuk tabel. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan rerata kekuatan otot responden laki-laki lebih besar dibanding perempuan dan rerata kekuatan responden yang termasuk dalam kelompok umur 60-79 tahun lebih besar dibanding kelompok umur 80-99 tahun.Kata kunci: kekuatan otot, lansia, 1 RM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-55
Author(s):  
Sri Puzzy Handayani ◽  
Rina Puspita Sari ◽  
Wibisono Wibisono

ABSTRACTIntroduction: 52.31% of the number of health complaints in elderly women is higher than the percentage of elderly men is 49, 74%. Changes that occur in the elderly tend to decrease in physical, psychological, psychosocial systems. This requires an action activity that can reach all aspects of the decline that is by doing elderly gymnastics. The purpose of this research to identify the benefits of elderly exercise on the quality of life of the elderly. Research methods by using literature review as a guide to search for research articles obtained from the internet using the Science Direct site, and Google Scholar. The results analysis of 10 selected research articles shows that elderly exercise can have several benefits, namely: physical benefits can improve physical fitness, body balance, breathing, and decreased blood pressure in elderly hypertension. Psychological benefits can improve sleep quality, decrease insomnia levels, decrease depression levels, reduce stress levels, and manage pain. Social and environmental benefits. Elderly exercise 3 times a week with a minimum duration of 30 minutes and a maximum of 40 minutes with a time of> 4 weeks will be more effective in getting many benefits.


Crisis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masatsugu Orui ◽  
Suzuka Saeki ◽  
Yuki Kozakai ◽  
Shuichiro Harada ◽  
Mizuho Hayashi

Abstract. Background: People who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) were expected to have additional levels of psychological burden resulting from the stressful conditions imposed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; consequently, suicide rates may increase. Aim: We aimed to carry out continuous monitoring of suicide rates in the affected area following the GEJE under COVID-19 pandemic conditions. Method: This descriptive study monitored the suicide rates of the coastal area of Miyagi Prefecture, where disaster-related mental health activities have been continuing following severe damage caused by the tsunami disaster. An exponential smoothing time-series analysis that converted suicide rates into a smooth trend was conducted. Results: Although the suicide rate in the affected area was higher than the national average in February 2020, it showed a declining trend during the COVID-19 pandemic, while showing an increase trend in the national and non-affected areas. Limitations: Uncertainty about the direct reasons for suicide and the short time-scale observation are the limitations of this study. Conclusion: Although the national suicide rate increased, this was not the case for the affected area. Our findings may provide important lessons for suicide prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic, which needs careful regional monitoring of the state of suicide and of high-risk approaches such as disaster-related mental health activities.


2011 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 401-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Fuse ◽  
Yutaka Igarashi ◽  
Toshihiko Tanaka ◽  
Shiei Kim ◽  
Atsuko Tsujii ◽  
...  

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