Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31289047›Full record

Observational studyBMJ open2019

Internal exposure risk due to radiocesium and the consuming behaviour of local foodstuffs among pregnant women in Minamisoma City near the Fukushima nuclear power plant: a retrospective observational study.

Kana Yamamoto, Shuhei Nomura, Masaharu Tsubokura, Michio Murakami, Akihiko Ozaki, Claire Leppold, Toyoaki Sawano, Morihito Takita, Shigeaki Kato, Yukio Kanazawa and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Kana YamamotoDepartment of Internal Medicine, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Minamisoma, Fukushima, Japan.
Shuhei NomuraDepartment of Global Health Policy, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Japan.
Masaharu TsubokuraDepartment of Research, Research Center for Community Health, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Fukushima, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-8027-202X
Michio MurakamiDepartment of Health Risk Communication, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima City, Japan.
Akihiko OzakiDepartment of Research, Research Center for Community Health, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Fukushima, Japan.
Claire LeppoldDepartment of Research, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Minamisoma, Fukushima, Japan.
Toyoaki SawanoDepartment of Surgery, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Minamisoma, Fukushima, Japan.
Morihito TakitaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan.
Shigeaki KatoResearch Institute of Innovative Medicine, Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan.
Yukio KanazawaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Fukushima, Japan.
Hiroshi AnbeDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, Minamisoma, Fukushima, Japan.
Imakiire General Hospital · JPFukushima Medical University · JPThe University of Tokyo · JPTokiwa University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the internal cesium (Cs) level among pregnant women in Minamisoma City (the area straddling the evacuation zones) over a 5-year period after Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and assess the status and transition of their food-acquiring preferences during this period.

designA retrospective observational study of a screening along with a questionnaire survey.

settingThis study was conducted in an obstetrics and gynaecology service in Minamisoma City in Fukushima, Japan.

participantsParticipants included pregnant women who applied for the voluntary internal radiation exposure screening programme. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Internal radiation exposure was evaluated using the whole-body counter (WBC) in the screening programme. Data from a food acquisition preference questionnaire administered to the participants were analysed and compared across the 5-year period after adjusting for covariates.

resultsOverall, 804 screening programmes were conducted with 579 participants during the study period. All participants had internal contamination levels below the detection limit of the WBC unit (220 and 250 Bq/body for Cs-134 and Cs-137, respectively). Based on the most conservative assumption, their maximum annual effective doses by Cs-134 and Cs-137 together were estimated at 16 µSv/year. Contrary to limited internal contamination risks and counter-dose initiatives by the government, a considerable number of pregnant women were still concerned about consuming potentially contaminated local food products when purchasing them at supermarkets between 2012 (78.4%) and 2015 (75.0%).

conclusionsHealth effects from post-accident internal radiation exposure were likely to be insignificant in pregnant women. National/local action is urgently needed to promote scientific understanding in pregnant women regarding limited internal exposure risks from local food products in the market. However, few mothers chose to participate in the internal radiation exposure screening programme, and thus, caution is required in interpreting the results of analyses.

Indexed as

Food Contamination, RadioactiveFukushima Nuclear AccidentNuclear Power PlantsAdultCesium RadioisotopesFemaleFood PreferencesHumansJapanPregnancyRadiation ExposureRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentCesium Radioisotopesfood avoidancefood purchaseinternal contaminationinternal exposure riskradiationwhole body counter

Identifiers

PMID31289047
PMCPMC6615778
OpenAlexW2957419583

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.