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Abstract
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Objectives:
Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) in 2011 terribly affected the coastal area of Iwate pref. Children with developmental issues had the great difficulty in adjusting to their lives after the Disaster. The purpose of this study is to clarify the psychological impacts of GEJE on children with developmental disabilities, through investigating the characteristics of developmental disorders (DD) newly diagnosed after the GEJE.
Methods:
1) All clinical cases (2011-2012) seen at the Iwate Children’s Mental Health Care Center were reviewed. There were 137 diagnosed (191 initial visits). Among them, 6 previously diagnosed as DD and 1 incomplete file were excluded. The remaining 130 cases were statistically analyzed for correlations between DD, background, and disaster experiences.
2) All clinical cases (2013-2015) seen at the Iwate Child Care Center were reviewed. There were 402 diagnosed as DD (701 initial visits), including 93 previously diagnosed as DD. 350 received IQ tests and were statistically analyzed to compare IQ of 286 newly diagnosed with 64 previously diagnosed as DD. Further, the ratio of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as the comorbidity of DD was investigated.
Results:
1) We observed 42 (32.3%) cases showing DD after the GEJE. The classification of DD is as follows; 31(73.8%) Autism Spectrum Disorders and 9(21.4%) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and others. Significant factors for those diagnosed with DD to compare with 88 non-DD patients (Chi-square test) are Male (p=0.008), No loss of relative or friends (p=0.002), No Home-damaged (p=0.016). The logistic regression model showed that Male were more likely to show DD (OR=3.66, p=0.008, 95%CI [1.41-9.52]) and almost 80% of lost relative or friends are less likely to show DD (OR=0.22, p=0.026, 95%CI [0.06-0.83]).
2) The ratio of cases with IQ more than 75 were 83.6% in the newly diagnosed group as compared with 70.3% in the previously diagnosed (p=0.022). Further, 33% of PTSD cases living in the Disaster area showed DD comorbid, in relation to 12% of PTSD cases living in the inland showing DD.
Conclusion:
The main risk factor of DD newly diagnosed after the Disaster is Male, i.e. the underlying causes are biological. The IQ of DD newly diagnosed showed significantly higher range. Stress related to the exposure to the Disaster does not cause a DD, but may work to reveal otherwise undiagnosed cases. These findings suggests some biological and social influence on development of DD.
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