DR.TSUBOKURA'S RADIATION LECTURE VOL.167

Author: Masaharu Tsubokura M.D., PhD.

Editor: Yudai Kaneda

333　Worse than average mental health situation

June 26, 2021

In March of this year, the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation issued a report titled the “20 Year Report.”

　As we have mentioned several times before, in addition to internal exposure to cesium, the current report also includes a significant downward trend. Moreover, the report indicates that the possibility of an increase in cancers associated with radiation exposure, including thyroid cancer, is low.

　The genetic effects of radiation are also not clear in the results after the Chernobyl accident, and we are not in a situation to be concerned about genetic effects after the Fukushima accident.

　On the other hand, the mental effects and the impact on health caused by the change in living environment were enormous. In the ongoing prefectural health survey that has been conducted since the accident, we have asked about the mental health of the disaster victims. The mental effects of the accident, which were extremely negative immediately after the accident, have improved over the years and people are now much better than they were at the time of the disaster. On the other hand, the situation remains somewhat worse than the national average.

334　 Diabetes among evacuees, worsening challenges

3 July 2021

In March of this year, the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation issued a report titled the “20 Year Report” that states there is little possibility of an increase in cancers associated with radiation exposure, including thyroid cancer.

　While the effects of such radiation exposure were limited, the mental and health effects of the change in living environment were enormous.

　Along with the psychological impact, one of the biggest challenges remains the worsening of lifestyle-related diseases, especially diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which blood sugar levels become uncontrollable. Because blood glucose levels remain high, various blood vessels in the body become obstructed, which can easily lead to cerebral or myocardial infarction. Although the direct cause of diabetes is not known, people with diabetes are more prone to depression and even cancer than people without diabetes are, and it is the cause of all diseases.

　Diabetes is known to be worse among those who have experienced evacuation. Although radiation exposure following the nuclear accident was low, as noted in the UN report, these health effects remain a challenge more than a decade later.

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The Japanese version of the manuscript was originally published in Fukushima Minyu, a local newspaper in Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on June 26 and July 5 2021 was reproduced for MRIC Global under the author's permission.