A memorial stone for Korean victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The second generation of Koreans who were impacted by U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 are more exposed to the risk of various diseases and depression, a research report has showed.
Researchers at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs conducted a nationwide survey in 2019 of 748 people who were the second generation of Korean victims of the atomic bombings in Japan, and compared the results with the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the same year, which showed that this group was exposed to a higher risk of disease than others.
Male respondents were found to be 8.4 times more likely to contract asthma, while women were 6 times more likely to develop the condition. Men were also 5 times more likely to contract atopy, compared to 7.4 times for women.
The second generation of atomic bombing victims was also 2.8 to 4.6 times more likely to contract thyroid-related diseases and rheumatoid arthritis.
Among the respondents, 35.2 percent of men and 42.6 percent of women believed themselves to be in bad health, which was two to three times higher than others.
The level of activity restrictions caused by health conditions was twice as high at a minimum among the second generation of Korean victims.
The data also showed that 22.1 percent of male and 24.3 percent of female respondents had contracted depression, which was twice as high as others (7.8 percent for men, 11.2 percent for women).
A significant portion of both male and female respondents reported having contemplated suicide in the past year, with 12.4 percent of men and 12.5 percent of women indicating such thoughts, which was three times higher than others (3.7 percent for men, 4 percent for women).
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
