Knowledge of genetic effects of radiation exposure in Fukushima after the nuclear accident in relation to health literacy.

Purpose: Since the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, there has been anxiety about the effects of radiation exposure on future generations, specifically that the effects of radiation exposure may be inherited by descendants. We explored the relationship between health literacy and knowledge of the genetic effects of radiation exposure on this anxiety in both men and women.

Methods: In August 2016, a mail survey was conducted among 2,000 Fukushima residents aged 20-79 years. The objective variable was a true/false question, "No genetic effects have been observed among second- and third-generation atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." The explanatory variable was the Critical and Communicative Health Literacy (CCHL) scale score. We also asked about variables including attributes of age, sex, affiliation with an organization or group, and media used for information about radiation.

Results: There were 861 valid responses (43.4%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that both men and women with higher CCHL scores were more knowledgeable about genetic effects. Men who were older and women who used government publications were knowledgeable about genetic effects, but men who belonged to community groups and women in evacuation areas who used private national broadcast TV or word-of-mouth were not knowledgeable about genetic effects.

Conclusions: CCHL was significantly associated with knowledge about genetic effects of radiation exposure. For men and women in Fukushima, the results suggest that improvement in health literacy is necessary to select media that disseminate accurate information. For men, recommendations regarding suitable sources of information cannot be ascertained through this study, because the source of information for men was not significantly associated with KOGEORE by multivariate logistic regression analysis.