Design of the Nationwide Nursery School Survey on Child Health Throughout the Great East Japan Earthquake

Hiroko Matsubara; Mami Ishikuro; Masahiro Kikuya; Shoichi Chida; Mitsuaki Hosoya; Atsushi Ono; Noriko Kato; Susumu Yokoya; Toshiaki Tanaka; Tsuyoshi Isojima; Zentaro Yamagata; Soichiro Tanaka; Shinichi Kuriyama; Shigeo Kure

doi:10.2188/jea.JE20150073

Study Profile

Design of the Nationwide Nursery School Survey on Child Health Throughout the Great East Japan Earthquake

Hiroko Matsubara, Mami Ishikuro, Masahiro Kikuya, Shoichi Chida, Mitsuaki Hosoya, Atsushi Ono, Noriko Kato, Susumu Yokoya, Toshiaki Tanaka, Tsuyoshi Isojima, Zentaro Yamagata, Soichiro Tanaka, Shinichi Kuriyama, Shigeo Kure

Author information

Hiroko Matsubara
Department of Disaster Public Health, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University
Mami Ishikuro
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo), Tohoku University
Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University
Masahiro Kikuya
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo), Tohoku University
Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University
Shoichi Chida
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University
Mitsuaki Hosoya
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University
Atsushi Ono
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University
Noriko Kato
Area on Health Promotion Research, National Institute of Public Health
Susumu Yokoya
Department of Medical Subspecialties, National Center for Child Health and Development
Toshiaki Tanaka
Japanese Association for Human Auxology
Tsuyoshi Isojima
Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
Zentaro Yamagata
Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School Department of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Yamanashi
Soichiro Tanaka
Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University
Shinichi Kuriyama
Department of Disaster Public Health, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo), Tohoku University
Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University
Shigeo Kure
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo), Tohoku University
Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University

Keywords: natural disaster, preschool children, physical development, children’s health, retrospective cohort

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Supplementary material

2016 Volume 26 Issue 2 Pages 98-104

DOI https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.JE20150073

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Abstract

Background: The Great East Japan Earthquake inflicted severe damage on the Pacific coastal areas of northeast Japan. Although possible health impacts on aged or handicapped populations have been highlighted, little is known about how the serious disaster affected preschool children’s health. We conducted a nationwide nursery school survey to investigate preschool children’s physical development and health status throughout the disaster.
Methods: The survey was conducted from September to December 2012. We mailed three kinds of questionnaires to nursery schools in all 47 prefectures in Japan. Questionnaire “A” addressed nursery school information, and questionnaires “B1” and “B2” addressed individuals’ data. Our targets were children who were born from April 2, 2004, to April 1, 2005 (those who did not experience the disaster during their preschool days) and children who were born from April 2, 2006, to April 1, 2007 (those who experienced the disaster during their preschool days). The questionnaire inquired about disaster experiences, anthropometric measurements, and presence of diseases.
Results: In total, 3624 nursery schools from all 47 prefectures participated in the survey. We established two nationwide retrospective cohorts of preschool children; 53 747 children who were born from April 2, 2004, to April 1, 2005, and 69 004 children who were born from April 2, 2006, to April 1, 2007. Among the latter cohort, 1003 were reported to have specific personal experiences with the disaster.
Conclusions: With the large dataset, we expect to yield comprehensive study results about preschool children’s physical development and health status throughout the disaster.

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