Takuya Sekiguchi1, Yoshihiro Hagiwara2, Yumi Sugawara3, Yasutake Tomata3, Fumiya Tanji3, Takashi Watanabe4, Yutaka Yabe5, Masashi Koide5, Nobuyuki Itaya5, Eiji Itoi5, Ichiro Tsuji3. 1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8574, Japan; Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Informatics and Public Health, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan. 2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8574, Japan. Electronic address: hagi@med.tohoku.ac.jp. 3. Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Informatics and Public Health, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan. 4. Department of General Practice, Japan Community Health Care Organization Hospital, 3-16-1, Tsutsumi-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 981-8501, Japan. 5. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8574, Japan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Studies have suggested that musculoskeletal symptoms increase after natural disasters. The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and accompanying tsunami placed a huge financial burden on the local population. This study determined whether subjective economic hardship influenced the new onset of neck pain (katakori) in the chronic phase after the GEJE. METHODS: This study used longitudinal data from 1359 adults who had responded to the self-report questionnaire at 2 and 3 years after the GEJE. New-onset neck pain was defined as neck pain absent at 2 years and present at 3 years. Subjective economic hardship at 2 years after the GEJE was categorized into 4 groups: "normal," "a little bit hard," "hard," and "very hard." Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in order to examine the association between subjective economic hardship and new-onset neck pain. RESULTS: Among the participants, 12.9% (n = 175) reported new-onset neck pain. A significantly higher rate of new-onset neck pain was observed in participants who considered their subjective economic hardship to be "hard" (OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.34-3.30) or "very hard" (OR = 3.26, 95% CI = 1.83-5.46; p for trend <0.001) compared with those who considered their hardship to be "normal." CONCLUSIONS: Subjective economic hardship was significantly associated with new-onset neck pain in the chronic phase of the GEJE. (228/300).
BACKGROUND: Studies have suggested that musculoskeletal symptoms increase after natural disasters. The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and accompanying tsunami placed a huge financial burden on the local population. This study determined whether subjective economic hardship influenced the new onset of neck pain (katakori) in the chronic phase after the GEJE. METHODS: This study used longitudinal data from 1359 adults who had responded to the self-report questionnaire at 2 and 3 years after the GEJE. New-onset neck pain was defined as neck pain absent at 2 years and present at 3 years. Subjective economic hardship at 2 years after the GEJE was categorized into 4 groups: "normal," "a little bit hard," "hard," and "very hard." Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in order to examine the association between subjective economic hardship and new-onset neck pain. RESULTS: Among the participants, 12.9% (n = 175) reported new-onset neck pain. A significantly higher rate of new-onset neck pain was observed in participants who considered their subjective economic hardship to be "hard" (OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.34-3.30) or "very hard" (OR = 3.26, 95% CI = 1.83-5.46; p for trend <0.001) compared with those who considered their hardship to be "normal." CONCLUSIONS: Subjective economic hardship was significantly associated with new-onset neck pain in the chronic phase of the GEJE. (228/300).