Changes in pulmonary function of residents in Sanriku Seacoast following the tsunami disaster from the Great East Japan Earthquake

The pulmonary function expressed as FVC% pred. and FEV1% pred. were significantly higher in 2012 than in 2011 among the subjects studied. The changes in the smoking status may be one of the reasons for the increase in values observed. However, other undetermined factors during recovery from a disaster might have resulted in improved pulmonary function.