Zheng W, Yokomichi H, Matsubara H, Ishikuro M, Kikuya M, Isojima T, Yokoya S, Tanaka T, Kato N, Chida S, Ono A, Hosoya M, Tanaka S, Kuriyama S, Kure S, Yamagata Z
Department of Social Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
Department of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Chuo, Japan.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2017 Apr;41(4):606-612. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2017.6. Epub 2017 Jan 17.
The evacuation and disruption in housing caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and following nuclear radiation may have influenced child health in many respects. However, studies regarding longitudinal childhood growth are limited. Therefore, in this study we aimed to explore the influence of the earthquake on longitudinal changes in body mass index in preschool children.
Participants were children from nursery schools who cooperated with the study in the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. The exposed group consisted of children who experienced the earthquake during their preschool-age period (4-5 years old). The historical control group included children who were born 2 years earlier than the exposed children in the same prefectures. Trajectories regarding body mass index and prevalence of overweight/obesity were compared between the two groups using multilevel analysis. Differences in the changes in BMI between before and after the earthquake, and proportion of overweight/obesity was compared between the two groups. We also conducted subgroup analysis by defining children with specific personal disaster experiences within the exposed group.
A total of 9722 children were included in the study. Children in the exposed group had higher body mass indices and a higher proportion of overweight after the earthquake than the control group. These differences were more obvious when confined to exposed children with specific personal disaster experiences.
Children's growth and development-related health issues such as increased BMI after natural disasters should evoke great attention.
2011年东日本大地震及随后的核辐射导致的人员疏散和住房破坏可能在许多方面影响了儿童健康。然而，关于儿童纵向生长的研究有限。因此，在本研究中，我们旨在探讨地震对学龄前儿童体重指数纵向变化的影响。
参与者为来自岩手县、宫城县和福岛县与该研究合作的幼儿园儿童。暴露组由在学龄前（4 - 5岁）经历地震的儿童组成。历史对照组包括在同一县比暴露组儿童早出生2年的儿童。使用多水平分析比较两组之间体重指数轨迹和超重/肥胖患病率。比较两组地震前后体重指数变化的差异以及超重/肥胖比例。我们还通过在暴露组中定义有特定个人灾难经历的儿童进行亚组分析。
本研究共纳入9722名儿童。暴露组儿童在地震后的体重指数高于对照组，超重比例也更高。当仅限于有特定个人灾难经历的暴露儿童时，这些差异更为明显。
自然灾害后儿童生长发育相关的健康问题，如体重指数增加，应引起高度关注。
