Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vvkck Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T20:55:24.441Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Prefabricated Temporary Housing and Eczema or Respiratory Symptoms in Schoolchildren after the Great East Japan Earthquake: The ToMMo Child Health Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2019

Yasutaka Kuniyoshi*
Affiliation:
Department of Disaster Public Health, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Masahiro Kikuya
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Masako Miyashita
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Chizuru Yamanaka
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Mami Ishikuro
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Taku Obara
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Japan
Hirohito Metoki
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Division of Public Health, Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Naoki Nakaya
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Personalized Prevention and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Fuji Nagami
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Hiroaki Tomita
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Disaster Psychiatry, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Atsushi Hozawa
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Personalized Prevention and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Ichiro Tsuji
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Public Health and Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Shigeo Kure
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Nobuo Yaegashi
Affiliation:
Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Japan
Shinichi Kuriyama
Affiliation:
Department of Disaster Public Health, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Yasutaka Kuniyoshi, MD, Department of Disaster Public Health, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8573, Japan (e-mail: yasutakakuniyoshi@yahoo.co.jp).

Abstract

Objective:

We aimed to investigate the association between types of housing and allergic symptoms at 3–4 years following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods:

Our study was based on the ToMMo Child Health Study conducted in 2014 and 2015, a cross-sectional survey of public school children in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Of the 46 648 invited schoolchildren in the 2nd to 8th grades, 9884 were included. Presence of eczema, wheezing, and mental health symptoms was defined with questionnaires. To calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for the associations between types of housing and eczema or respiratory symptoms, we fitted generalized linear mixed models, included a random effect for municipality of residence, and adjusted for sex, school grade, survey year, and mental health symptoms.

Results:

Prefabricated temporary housing was significantly associated with eczema symptoms (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.06–2.02). Even after adjusting for the presence of mental health symptoms, our analysis produced similar results (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.03–1.96). Conversely, it was not significantly associated with respiratory symptoms (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.61–1.54).

Conclusions:

Children living in prefabricated temporary housing had a higher prevalence of eczema symptoms; however, prevalence of respiratory symptoms was not significantly higher.

Type
Original Research
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Government of Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The Great East Japan Earthquake, report 156 (in Japanese). 2017:140. http://www.fdma.go.jp/bn/higaihou_new.html. Accessed August 1, 2018.Google Scholar
Reconstruction Agency. Current situation of reconstruction and efforts (in Japanese). 2016. https://www.reconstruction.go.jp/topics/120521genjototorikumi.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2018.Google Scholar
The Board of Audit of Japan. The situation concerning provision of emergency temporary housing set up to rescue the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake (in Japanese). 2012. http://report.jbaudit.go.jp/org/pdf/241004_zenbun_2.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2018.Google Scholar
Ishikuro, M, Matsubara, H, Kikuya, M, et al. Disease prevalence among nursery school children after the Great East Japan Earthquake. BMJ Glob Health. 2017;2:e000127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kodama, A, Horikawa, T, Suzuki, T, et al. Effect of stress on atopic dermatitis: investigation in patients after the Great Hanshin Earthquake. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999;104:173176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hasegawa, K, Yoshino, H, Yanagi, U, et al. Indoor thermal environment of temporary houses built after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and proposal of thermal performance for building envelopes and mechanical ventilation system (in Japanese). J Environ Eng. 2017;82:1930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yanagi, U, Yoshino, H, Hasegawa, K, et al. A study on indoor air environment of temporary houses after the Great East Japan calamity (in Japanese). J Environ Eng. 2013;78:917921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yanagi, U, Yoshino, H, Hasegawa, K, et al. Indoor fungus contamination in temporary houses in Sendai city (in Japanese). AIJ J Technol Des. 2016;22:615620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oikawa, D, Takao, Y, Murata, S, et al. Measurement of carbonyl and volatile organic compounds in indoor air of temporary houses constructed in Miyagi prefecture (in Japanese). Indoor Environ. 2011;14:113121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shinohara, N, Tokumura, M, Kazama, M, et al. Indoor air quality, air exchange rates, and radioactivity in new built temporary houses following the Great East Japan Earthquake in Minamisoma, Fukushima. Indoor Air. 2013;23:332341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shinohara, N, Tokumura, M, Kazama, M, et al. Indoor air quality and thermal comfort in temporary houses occupied after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Indoor Air. 2014;24:425437.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cai, J, Liu, W, Hu, Y, et al. Associations between home dampness-related exposures and childhood eczema among 13, 335 preschool children in Shanghai, China: a cross-sectional study. Environ Res. 2016;146:1826.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bornehag, CG, Sundell, J, Hagerhed-Engman, L, et al. “Dampness” at home and its association with airway, nose, and skin symptoms among 10, 851 preschool children in Sweden: a cross-sectional study. Indoor Air. 2005;15:4855.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kikuya, M, Miyashita, M, Yamanaka, C, et al. Protocol and research perspectives of the ToMMo Child Health Study after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2015;236:123130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miyashita, M, Kikuya, M, Yamanaka, C, et al. Eczema and asthma symptoms among schoolchildren in coastal and inland areas after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake: the ToMMo Child Health Study. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2015;237:297305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asher, MI, Keil, U, Anderson, HR, et al. International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC): rationale and methods. Eur Respir J. 1995;8:483491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nishima, S, Odajima, H. Prevalence of childhood allergic diseases in Japan using ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) phase I protocol (in Japanese). Jpn J Pediatr Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002;16:207220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odhiambo, JA, Williams, HC, Clayton, TO, et al. Global variations in prevalence of eczema symptoms in children from ISAAC phase three. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;124:12511258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, R. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: a research note. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1997;38:581586.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matsuishi, T, Nagano, M, Araki, Y, et al. Scale properties of the Japanese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): a study of infant and school children in community samples. Brain Dev. 2008;30:410415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gupta, MA, Jarosz, P, Gupta, AK. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the dermatology patient. Clin Dermatol. 2017;35:260266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Passos, IC, Vasconcelos-Moreno, MP, Costa, LG, et al. Inflammatory markers in post-traumatic stress disorder: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression. Lancet Psychiatry. 2015;2:10021012.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Altemus, M, Rao, B, Dhabhar, FS, et al. Stress-induced changes in skin barrier function in healthy women. J Invest Dermatol. 2001;117:309317.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duggan, EM, Sturley, J, Fitzgerald, AP, et al. The 2002–2007 trends of prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema in Irish schoolchildren. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2012;23:464471.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sun, Y, Sundell, J. Life style and home environment are associated with racial disparities of asthma and allergy in Northeast Texas children. Sci Total Environ. 2011;409:42294234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hasegawa, K, Yoshino, H, Yanagi, U, et al. Association between environmental factors and occupant health in temporary housing built after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011: questionnaire survey in Sendai area (in Japanese). J Environ Eng. 2017;82:967976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WHO guidelines for indoor air quality; dampness and mould. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. 2009. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/43325/E92645.pdf?ua=1. Accessed August 1, 2018.Google Scholar
Fisk, WJ, Lei-Gomez, Q, Mendell, MJ. Meta-analyses of the associations of respiratory health effects with dampness and mold in homes. Indoor Air. 2007;17:284296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bornehag, CG, Blomquist, G, Gyntelberg, F, et al. Dampness in buildings and health. Nordic interdisciplinary review of the scientific evidence on associations between exposure to “dampness” in buildings and health effects (NORDDAMP). Indoor Air. 2001;11:7286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, M, Yoshida, K, Adachi, Y, et al. Environmental factors associated with childhood eczema: findings from a national web-based survey. Allergol Int. 2016;65:420424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed