A PREVALENCE STUDY OF MENTAL DISORDERS OF ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVORS IN NAGASAKI

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Fifty-one years have passed since an atomic bomb expored on Nagasaki in 1945. More than 70,000 out of 210,000 people in Nagasaki City dies before the end of December, 1945 and more than 100,000 became atomic bomb survivors.The purpose of our study is to evaluate the general mental health of the atomic bomb survivors as objectively as possible, and clarify the psycho-social consequences of the atomic bombing on these people.Among 38,827 people visited health examination during the study period, 7,670 subjects completed the CHQ-12,225 people participated in the second step survey, and 212 people partipated in the third step survey. The percentage of people with high GHQ-12 scores amounted to 9.4% for males and 9.2% for females. Comparing the GHQ scores by distance from the epicenter, the average score was higher and the percentage of people with high scores was greater among those exposed to the atomic bomb in proximity to the epicenter.As the results of clinical diagnose induced by the CIDI interview and by the research psychiatrists it is surprising that Atomic bomb survivors have psychological symptoms in high frequency which are diagnosed as somatoform disorders and depressive disorders.The prevalence rates of mental disorders among atomic bomb survivors are estimated 11.59-19.59% in this study.We are planning to continue our study a few more years, and will try to obtain information from all the atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki and clarify the degree of their mental health problems.