Quarter of Japanese Kids Affected by Tsunami Require Psychiatric Care

A new study conducted by researchers at Tohoku University School of Medicine reveals that more than a quarter of Japanese nursery children who have been affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami require psychiatric care.

The researchers collected responses from more than 175 children between 3 and 5 years old from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima and analyzed them with the help of a standard child behavior checklist. The researchers found that the need for urgent psychiatric care among children from regions affected by the quake was three times higher than in other regions.

They also found that over 25.9 percent of the children suffered from nausea, headache and vertigo while many also displayed symptoms of withdrawal and aggression.

"It is known that children need (psychiatric) care right after an earthquake disaster, but this study was done more than a year and half after the fact, so that concerns me", National Center for Child Health and Development's Makiko Okuyama, who was part of the study, said.

Source: Medindia