Concern over radiation exposure and psychological distress among rescue workers following the Great East Japan Earthquake

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that followed caused severe damage along Japans northeastern coastline and to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. To date, there are few reports specifically examining psychological distress in rescue workers in Japan. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent concern over radiation exposure has caused psychological distress to such workers deployed in the disaster area.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One month after the disaster, 424 of 1816 (24%) disaster medical assistance team workers deployed to the disaster area were assessed. Concern over radiation exposure was evaluated by a single self-reported question. General psychological distress was assessed with the Kessler 6 scale (K6), depressive symptoms with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), fear and sense of helplessness with the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI), and posttraumatic stress symptoms with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Radiation exposure was a concern for 39 (9.2%) respondents. Concern over radiation exposure was significantly associated with higher scores on the K6, CES-D, PDI, and IES-R. After controlling for age, occupation, disaster operation experience, duration of time spent watching earthquake news, and past history of psychiatric illness, these associations remained significant in men, but did not remain significant in women for the CES-D and PDI scores.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings suggest that concern over radiation exposure was strongly associated with psychological distress. Reliable, accurate information on radiation exposure might reduce deployment-related distress in disaster rescue workers.</p

Peritraumatic Distress, Watching Television, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Rescue Workers after the Great East Japan Earthquake

BACKGROUND: The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2001 left around 20,000 dead or missing. Previous studies showed that rescue workers, as well as survivors, of disasters are at high risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examined the predictive usefulness of the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI) among rescue workers of Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) deployed during the acute disaster phase of the Great East Japan Earthquake. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this prospective observational study, the DMAT members recruited were assessed 1 month after the earthquake on the PDI and 4 months after the earthquake on the Impact of Event Scale-Revised to determine PTSD symptoms. The predictive value of the PDI at initial assessment for PTSD symptoms at the follow-up assessment was examined by univariate and multiple linear regression analysis. Of the 254 rescue workers who participated in the initial assessment, 173 completed the follow-up assessment. Univariate regression analysis revealed that PDI total score and most individual item scores predicted PTSD symptoms. In particular, high predictive values were seen for peritraumatic emotional distress such as losing control of emotions and being ashamed of emotional reactions. In multiple linear regression analysis, PDI total score was an independent predictor for PTSD symptoms after adjusting for covariates. As for covariates specifically, watching earthquake television news reports for more than 4 hours per day predicted PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The PDI predicted PTSD symptoms in rescue workers after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Peritraumatic emotional distress appears to be an important factor to screen for individuals at risk for developing PTSD among medical rescue workers. In addition, watching television for extended period of time might require attention at a time of crisis

The Clinical Potential of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics against Pancreatic Cancer

Although many diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for pancreatic cancer have been proposed, an urgent need for improved therapeutic strategies remains. Oligonucleotide therapeutics, such as those based on antisense RNAs, small interfering RNA (siRNA), microRNA (miRNA), aptamers, and decoys, are promising agents against pancreatic cancer, because they can identify a specific mRNA fragment of a given sequence or protein, and interfere with gene expression as molecular-targeted agents. Within the past 25 years, the diversity and feasibility of these drugs as diagnostic or therapeutic tools have dramatically increased. Several clinical and preclinical studies of oligonucleotides have been conducted for patients with pancreatic cancer. To support the discovery of effective diagnostic or therapeutic options using oligonucleotide-based strategies, in the absence of satisfactory therapies for long-term survival and the increasing trend of diseases, we summarize the current clinical trials of oligonucleotide therapeutics for pancreatic cancer patients, with underlying preclinical and scientific data, and focus on the possibility of oligonucleotides for targeting pancreatic cancer in clinical implications

Association between clinical decision for patients with COVID-19 and post-traumatic stress symptoms among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between clinical decision for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Japanese healthcare professionals were recruited. The survey was conducted from May 21 to June 18, 2021. PTSS was assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Items about the experience of clinical decision for COVID-19 patients and other independent variables were originally developed from previous studies. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the association of independent variables and PTSS. Results: 515 (3.9%) healthcare professionals completed all questions. Among them, 172 (33.4%) had experienced clinical decision for COVID-19 patients. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that clinical decision for COVID-19 patients (B=3.32, 95% CI 1.41–5.24; p&lt;0.01), as well as fear of getting a COVID-19 infection (B=2.15, 95% CI 0.32–3.98; p=0.02), were significantly associated with PTSS in the adjusted model. Conclusions: The study showed that clinical decision might be a very serious factor related to PTSS among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19. Clinical decision for patients with COVID-19 has a high experience rate and was considered to be a serious experience among healthcare professionals during the pandemic. As a countermeasure for the mental health of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19, it is important for healthcare professionals to take countermeasures for clinical decision for patients with COVID-19