Glycated hemoglobin levels among workers who remained in the area evacuated after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant disaster

Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 2011, public health issues in neighboring regions have attracted significant attention. One ongoing debate involves whether the prevalence of diabetes has increased in areas with radioactive contamination or not, as previous studies have revealed inconsistent results. Thus, given that the indirect effects of radiation on public health have been extensively discussed, it is important to evaluate the health statuses of individuals who work in regions with relatively high radiation doses and who are thought to have lived without a major change in lifestyle. The present study aimed to evaluate whether glycated hemoglobin values increased between 2010 and 2016 among a sample of factory (Kikuchi Seisakusho) employees from Iitate village, who continued to work in the factory after the disaster. The results indicated that the post-disaster values for glycated hemoglobin did not significantly exceed those from 2010. This finding may be useful for conducting further studies to examine the effects of radioactive contamination exposure on the risk of developing diabetes.