Qingyi Xu1, Maiko Fukasawa2, Norito Kawakami3, Toshiaki Baba2, Kiyomi Sakata4, Ruriko Suzuki5, Hiroaki Tomita6, Harumi Nemoto6, Seiji Yasumura7, Hirooki Yabe7, Naoko Horikoshi7, Maki Umeda8, Yuriko Suzuki9, Haruki Shimoda4, Hisateru Tachimori9, Tadashi Takeshima9, Evelyn J Bromet10. 1. Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Psychology, Dalian Medical University, China. 2. Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan. 3. Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: nkawakami@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp. 4. School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Japan. 5. Iwate College of Nursing, Japan. 6. Department of Disaster Psychiatry, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Japan. 7. Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Japan. 8. Graduate School of Nursing Science, St Luke's International University, Japan. 9. National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan. 10. Stony Brook University, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The effect of disasters on suicidality is not known. We aimed to retrospectively determine the cumulative incidence of suicidal ideation during the 3 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake among residents in temporary housing without prior suicidal ideation, as compared to the general population. Moreover, we aimed to identify the risk factors for the onset of suicidal ideation. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey involving face-to-face interviews was conducted 3 years after the earthquake with adult community residents in disaster-affected areas and a control area using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview version 3.0. We compared the cumulative incidence of suicidal ideation between the two areas using the Cox proportional hazard model and examined risk factors for the onset of suicidal ideation using a multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among 1019 respondents in the disaster-affected areas, the cumulative incidence of suicidal ideation over 1, 2, and 3 years after the earthquake was 1.4%, 2.4%, and 2.8%, respectively, which was significantly higher than that in the control area. Not being married, being injured in the disaster, and poor subjective physical health were associated with the onset of suicidal ideation. LIMITATIONS: We estimated the time of onset of suicidal ideation based on the respondents' current age and self-reported onset age, which limits the accuracy of the onset timing. CONCLUSIONS: We revealed a higher incidence of suicidal ideation in temporary housing residents and identified several risk factors, which suggests the importance of developing countermeasures to prevent suicide after a disaster.
BACKGROUND: The effect of disasters on suicidality is not known. We aimed to retrospectively determine the cumulative incidence of suicidal ideation during the 3 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake among residents in temporary housing without prior suicidal ideation, as compared to the general population. Moreover, we aimed to identify the risk factors for the onset of suicidal ideation. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey involving face-to-face interviews was conducted 3 years after the earthquake with adult community residents in disaster-affected areas and a control area using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview version 3.0. We compared the cumulative incidence of suicidal ideation between the two areas using the Cox proportional hazard model and examined risk factors for the onset of suicidal ideation using a multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among 1019 respondents in the disaster-affected areas, the cumulative incidence of suicidal ideation over 1, 2, and 3 years after the earthquake was 1.4%, 2.4%, and 2.8%, respectively, which was significantly higher than that in the control area. Not being married, being injured in the disaster, and poor subjective physical health were associated with the onset of suicidal ideation. LIMITATIONS: We estimated the time of onset of suicidal ideation based on the respondents' current age and self-reported onset age, which limits the accuracy of the onset timing. CONCLUSIONS: We revealed a higher incidence of suicidal ideation in temporary housing residents and identified several risk factors, which suggests the importance of developing countermeasures to prevent suicide after a disaster.