Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake
Objectives: Disasters change survivors’ living circumstances, which can affect their happiness. We examined the trends in the association between disaster damage and happiness before and after a disaster.Methods: We analyzed 4,044 participants aged ≥65 years who had experienced the Great East Japan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-09-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604901/full |
| _version_ | 1811183637355298816 |
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| author | Masato Nagai Hiroyuki Hikichi Koichiro Shiba Koichiro Shiba Katsunori Kondo Katsunori Kondo Ichiro Kawachi Jun Aida |
| author_facet | Masato Nagai Hiroyuki Hikichi Koichiro Shiba Koichiro Shiba Katsunori Kondo Katsunori Kondo Ichiro Kawachi Jun Aida |
| author_sort | Masato Nagai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: Disasters change survivors’ living circumstances, which can affect their happiness. We examined the trends in the association between disaster damage and happiness before and after a disaster.Methods: We analyzed 4,044 participants aged ≥65 years who had experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The baseline survey was conducted 7 months before the disaster. Follow-up surveys have been conducted every 3 years. Using a mixed model for repeated measures, we compared the prevalence ratios (PRs) for unhappiness according to the survivors’ level of housing damage, which is a proxy for disaster damage.Results: The unhappiness in participants who suffered severe damage appeared to be higher than in those with no damage in 2010 (multivariate-adjusted PR: 1.18, 95% confidence interval: 0.93–1.48). A higher PR was observed after the earthquake in 2013 (1.34, 0.79–2.28), while there was no difference in 2016 (1.02, 0.53–1.97) and 2019 (1.03, 0.50–2.12).Conclusion: The prevalence of unhappiness in survivors with severe housing damage was higher before the disaster. However, the unhappiness gap between people with and without housing damage converged during the follow-up. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:50:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f191be3947734b1ea5344bc7273437ff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-8564 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:50:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-f191be3947734b1ea5344bc7273437ff2022-12-22T04:30:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.International Journal of Public Health1661-85642022-09-016710.3389/ijph.2022.16049011604901Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan EarthquakeMasato Nagai0Hiroyuki Hikichi1Koichiro Shiba2Koichiro Shiba3Katsunori Kondo4Katsunori Kondo5Ichiro Kawachi6Jun Aida7Department of Oral Health Promotion, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, JapanDivision of Public Health, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, JapanDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Social Preventive Medical Sciences, Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, JapanDepartment of Gerontological Evaluation, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, JapanDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Oral Health Promotion, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, JapanObjectives: Disasters change survivors’ living circumstances, which can affect their happiness. We examined the trends in the association between disaster damage and happiness before and after a disaster.Methods: We analyzed 4,044 participants aged ≥65 years who had experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The baseline survey was conducted 7 months before the disaster. Follow-up surveys have been conducted every 3 years. Using a mixed model for repeated measures, we compared the prevalence ratios (PRs) for unhappiness according to the survivors’ level of housing damage, which is a proxy for disaster damage.Results: The unhappiness in participants who suffered severe damage appeared to be higher than in those with no damage in 2010 (multivariate-adjusted PR: 1.18, 95% confidence interval: 0.93–1.48). A higher PR was observed after the earthquake in 2013 (1.34, 0.79–2.28), while there was no difference in 2016 (1.02, 0.53–1.97) and 2019 (1.03, 0.50–2.12).Conclusion: The prevalence of unhappiness in survivors with severe housing damage was higher before the disaster. However, the unhappiness gap between people with and without housing damage converged during the follow-up.https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604901/fulldisastertrendhappinesshousing damageolder people |
| spellingShingle | Masato Nagai Hiroyuki Hikichi Koichiro Shiba Koichiro Shiba Katsunori Kondo Katsunori Kondo Ichiro Kawachi Jun Aida Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake International Journal of Public Health disaster trend happiness housing damage older people |
| title | Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake |
| title_full | Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake |
| title_fullStr | Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake |
| title_short | Long-Term Trend in the Association Between Disaster Damage and Happiness Before and After the Great East Japan Earthquake |
| title_sort | long term trend in the association between disaster damage and happiness before and after the great east japan earthquake |
| topic | disaster trend happiness housing damage older people |
| url | https://www.ssph-journal.org/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604901/full |
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