Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study
BackgroundForcibly displaced people face various challenges and are therefore at higher risk of being affected by mental and physiological distress. The present study aimed to determine levels of psychological well-being, PTSD symptom severity, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among forcib...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1179756/full |
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| author | Florian Knappe Konstantinia Filippou Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis Ioannis D. Morres Emmanouil Tzormpatzakis Elsa Havas Harald Seelig Flora Colledge Sebastian Ludyga Marianne Meier Dominique de Quervain Yannis Theodorakis Roland von Känel Uwe Pühse Markus Gerber |
| author_facet | Florian Knappe Konstantinia Filippou Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis Ioannis D. Morres Emmanouil Tzormpatzakis Elsa Havas Harald Seelig Flora Colledge Sebastian Ludyga Marianne Meier Dominique de Quervain Yannis Theodorakis Roland von Känel Uwe Pühse Markus Gerber |
| author_sort | Florian Knappe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundForcibly displaced people face various challenges and are therefore at higher risk of being affected by mental and physiological distress. The present study aimed to determine levels of psychological well-being, PTSD symptom severity, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among forcibly displaced people in Greece in response to WHO’s call for evidence-based public health policies and programs for forcibly displaced people.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study among n = 150 (50% women) forcibly displaced people originating from Sub-Sahara Africa and Southwest Asia living in a Greek refugee camp. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess psychological well-being, symptoms of PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety disorder and insomnia, perceived stress, headache, and perceived fitness. Cardiovascular risk markers were assessed to determine metabolic syndrome, and cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with the Åstrand-Rhyming Test of Maximal Oxygen Uptake.ResultsThe prevalence of mental distress and physiological disorders was overall elevated. Only 53.0% of participants rated their psychological well-being as high. Altogether, 35.3% scored above the clinical cut-off for PTSD, 33.3% for depression, 27.9% for generalized anxiety disorder, and 33.8% for insomnia. One in four (28.8%) participants met criteria for metabolic syndrome. While the prevalence of moderate or severe insomnia symptoms and metabolic syndrome differed little from the global population, the risk of being affected by mental distress was markedly increased. In multivariable analysis, higher perceived fitness was associated with higher psychological well-being (OR = 1.35, p = 0.003) and a decreased likelihood for metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.80, p = 0.031). Participants with elevated psychiatric symptoms were less likely to report high psychological well-being (OR = 0.22, p = 0.003) and had increased odds for higher PTSD severity (OR = 3.27, p = 0.034). Increased stress perception was associated with higher PTSD symptoms (OR = 1.13, p = 0.002).ConclusionThere is an elevated risk for mental distress compared to the global population and an overall high mental and physiological burden among people living in a Greek refugee camp. The findings underpin the call for urgent action. Policies should aim to reduce post-migration stressors and address mental health and non-communicable diseases by various programs. Sport and exercise interventions may be a favorable add-on, given that perceived fitness is associated with both mental and physiological health benefits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:12:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-460a9b55dfea4e828e1e29b8c4082bb6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:12:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-460a9b55dfea4e828e1e29b8c4082bb62023-06-16T04:44:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-06-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.11797561179756Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional studyFlorian Knappe0Konstantinia Filippou1Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis2Ioannis D. Morres3Emmanouil Tzormpatzakis4Elsa Havas5Harald Seelig6Flora Colledge7Sebastian Ludyga8Marianne Meier9Dominique de Quervain10Yannis Theodorakis11Roland von Känel12Uwe Pühse13Markus Gerber14Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, GreeceDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, GreeceDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Thessaly, Trikala, GreeceDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, GreeceDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, GreeceDepartment of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandInterdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDivision of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Thessaly, Trikala, GreeceDepartment of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandDepartment of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandBackgroundForcibly displaced people face various challenges and are therefore at higher risk of being affected by mental and physiological distress. The present study aimed to determine levels of psychological well-being, PTSD symptom severity, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among forcibly displaced people in Greece in response to WHO’s call for evidence-based public health policies and programs for forcibly displaced people.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study among n = 150 (50% women) forcibly displaced people originating from Sub-Sahara Africa and Southwest Asia living in a Greek refugee camp. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess psychological well-being, symptoms of PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety disorder and insomnia, perceived stress, headache, and perceived fitness. Cardiovascular risk markers were assessed to determine metabolic syndrome, and cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with the Åstrand-Rhyming Test of Maximal Oxygen Uptake.ResultsThe prevalence of mental distress and physiological disorders was overall elevated. Only 53.0% of participants rated their psychological well-being as high. Altogether, 35.3% scored above the clinical cut-off for PTSD, 33.3% for depression, 27.9% for generalized anxiety disorder, and 33.8% for insomnia. One in four (28.8%) participants met criteria for metabolic syndrome. While the prevalence of moderate or severe insomnia symptoms and metabolic syndrome differed little from the global population, the risk of being affected by mental distress was markedly increased. In multivariable analysis, higher perceived fitness was associated with higher psychological well-being (OR = 1.35, p = 0.003) and a decreased likelihood for metabolic syndrome (OR = 0.80, p = 0.031). Participants with elevated psychiatric symptoms were less likely to report high psychological well-being (OR = 0.22, p = 0.003) and had increased odds for higher PTSD severity (OR = 3.27, p = 0.034). Increased stress perception was associated with higher PTSD symptoms (OR = 1.13, p = 0.002).ConclusionThere is an elevated risk for mental distress compared to the global population and an overall high mental and physiological burden among people living in a Greek refugee camp. The findings underpin the call for urgent action. Policies should aim to reduce post-migration stressors and address mental health and non-communicable diseases by various programs. Sport and exercise interventions may be a favorable add-on, given that perceived fitness is associated with both mental and physiological health benefits.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1179756/fullprevalencephysical healthnon-communicable diseasePTSDstressmigrant |
| spellingShingle | Florian Knappe Konstantinia Filippou Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis Ioannis D. Morres Emmanouil Tzormpatzakis Elsa Havas Harald Seelig Flora Colledge Sebastian Ludyga Marianne Meier Dominique de Quervain Yannis Theodorakis Roland von Känel Uwe Pühse Markus Gerber Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study Frontiers in Public Health prevalence physical health non-communicable disease PTSD stress migrant |
| title | Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Psychological well-being, mental distress, metabolic syndrome, and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in Greece: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | psychological well being mental distress metabolic syndrome and associated factors among people living in a refugee camp in greece a cross sectional study |
| topic | prevalence physical health non-communicable disease PTSD stress migrant |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1179756/full |
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