Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwards
Abstract Background Refugees and asylum seekers have a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. The postmigration context inheres different risk and protective factors for mental health of refugees and asylum seekers in host cou...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15931-1 |
| _version_ | 1797784339353698304 |
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| author | Anna Christina Nowak Niklas Nutsch Tessa-Maria Brake Lea-Marie Gehrlein Oliver Razum |
| author_facet | Anna Christina Nowak Niklas Nutsch Tessa-Maria Brake Lea-Marie Gehrlein Oliver Razum |
| author_sort | Anna Christina Nowak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Refugees and asylum seekers have a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. The postmigration context inheres different risk and protective factors for mental health of refugees and asylum seekers in host countries. We conducted a systematic review to update knowledge on the association between characteristics of the postmigration living situation (PMLS) and mental health outcomes in Europe since 2015. Methods We searched in five databases according to the PRISMA statement. From a total of 5,579 relevant studies published in 2015–22, 3,839 were included for title and abstract screening, and 70 full texts screened for eligibility. Out of these, 19 studies on refugees and asylum seekers conducted in European countries after 2014 were included in this systematic review. The quality of studies was assessed by using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) – version 2018. We performed a narrative synthesis using the four layers of the social determinants of health framework. Results A wide range of risk and protective factors for mental health in the PMLS were identified as exposure measures, which included individual factors (e.g., language skills), social and community networks (e.g., family concerns, loneliness and social support, discrimination), living and working conditions (e.g., legal status, duration of residence, unemployment and financial hardship, housing) as well as general socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors (e.g., social status, acculturation). We found postmigration stressors are positively associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, albeit not consistently so. Especially, the general socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors showed weak associations with mental health. Conclusions Heterogenous study characteristics likely explain the inconsistent associations between characteristics of the PMLS and mental health outcomes. However, broken down in its component layers, most risk and protective factors of the PMLS were significantly associated with symptoms of mental disorders showing the same direction of association across the included studies, while the association between some stressors or resources of the PMLS and mental health turns out to be less homogeneous than expected. Characteristics of the PMLS contribute to the high prevalence of mental diseases of refugees and asylum seekers. Disadvantages in general socio-economic conditions, living and working conditions, in access to social and community networks need to be redressed, in addition to better access to health care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:38:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23ed7fa434ae4425901d2b1a76cd5007 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:38:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-23ed7fa434ae4425901d2b1a76cd50072023-07-09T11:27:13ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582023-07-0123112010.1186/s12889-023-15931-1Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwardsAnna Christina Nowak0Niklas Nutsch1Tessa-Maria Brake2Lea-Marie Gehrlein3Oliver Razum4Department of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityDepartment of Population Medicine and Health Services Research, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld UniversityAbstract Background Refugees and asylum seekers have a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. The postmigration context inheres different risk and protective factors for mental health of refugees and asylum seekers in host countries. We conducted a systematic review to update knowledge on the association between characteristics of the postmigration living situation (PMLS) and mental health outcomes in Europe since 2015. Methods We searched in five databases according to the PRISMA statement. From a total of 5,579 relevant studies published in 2015–22, 3,839 were included for title and abstract screening, and 70 full texts screened for eligibility. Out of these, 19 studies on refugees and asylum seekers conducted in European countries after 2014 were included in this systematic review. The quality of studies was assessed by using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) – version 2018. We performed a narrative synthesis using the four layers of the social determinants of health framework. Results A wide range of risk and protective factors for mental health in the PMLS were identified as exposure measures, which included individual factors (e.g., language skills), social and community networks (e.g., family concerns, loneliness and social support, discrimination), living and working conditions (e.g., legal status, duration of residence, unemployment and financial hardship, housing) as well as general socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors (e.g., social status, acculturation). We found postmigration stressors are positively associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, albeit not consistently so. Especially, the general socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors showed weak associations with mental health. Conclusions Heterogenous study characteristics likely explain the inconsistent associations between characteristics of the PMLS and mental health outcomes. However, broken down in its component layers, most risk and protective factors of the PMLS were significantly associated with symptoms of mental disorders showing the same direction of association across the included studies, while the association between some stressors or resources of the PMLS and mental health turns out to be less homogeneous than expected. Characteristics of the PMLS contribute to the high prevalence of mental diseases of refugees and asylum seekers. Disadvantages in general socio-economic conditions, living and working conditions, in access to social and community networks need to be redressed, in addition to better access to health care.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15931-1Asylum seekersAdult refugeesPostmigration living difficultiesPostmigration stressorsMental healthEuropean countries |
| spellingShingle | Anna Christina Nowak Niklas Nutsch Tessa-Maria Brake Lea-Marie Gehrlein Oliver Razum Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwards BMC Public Health Asylum seekers Adult refugees Postmigration living difficulties Postmigration stressors Mental health European countries |
| title | Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwards |
| title_full | Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwards |
| title_fullStr | Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwards |
| title_full_unstemmed | Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwards |
| title_short | Associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in Europe: updating systematic review from 2015 onwards |
| title_sort | associations between postmigration living situation and symptoms of common mental disorders in adult refugees in europe updating systematic review from 2015 onwards |
| topic | Asylum seekers Adult refugees Postmigration living difficulties Postmigration stressors Mental health European countries |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15931-1 |
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