AimsIn the past few years, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of forcibly displaced migrants worldwide, of which a substantial proportion is refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees and asylum seekers may experience high levels of psychological distress, and show high rates of mental health conditions. It is therefore timely and particularly relevant to assess whether current evidence supports the provision of psychosocial interventions for this population. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and acceptability of psychosocial interventions compared with control conditions (treatment as usual/no treatment, waiting list, psychological placebo) aimed at reducing mental health problems in distressed refugees and asylum seekers.MethodsWe used Cochrane procedures for conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. We searched for published and unpublished RCTs assessing the efficacy and acceptability of psychosocial interventions in adults and children asylum seekers and refugees with psychological distress. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive and anxiety symptoms at post-intervention were the primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes include: PTSD, depressive and anxiety symptoms at follow-up, functioning, quality of life and dropouts due to any reason.ResultsWe included 26 studies with 1959 participants. Meta-analysis of RCTs revealed that psychosocial interventions have a clinically significant beneficial effect on PTSD (standardised mean difference [SMD] = −0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] −1.01 to −0.41; I2 = 83%; 95% CI 78–88; 20 studies, 1370 participants; moderate quality evidence), depression (SMD = −1.02; 95% CI −1.52 to −0.51; I2 = 89%; 95% CI 82–93; 12 studies, 844 participants; moderate quality evidence) and anxiety outcomes (SMD = −1.05; 95% CI −1.55 to −0.56; I2 = 87%; 95% CI 79–92; 11 studies, 815 participants; moderate quality evidence). This beneficial effect was maintained at 1 month or longer follow-up, which is extremely important for populations exposed to ongoing post-migration stressors. For the other secondary outcomes, we identified a non-significant trend in favour of psychosocial interventions. Most evidence supported interventions based on cognitive behavioural therapies with a trauma-focused component. Limitations of this review include the limited number of studies collected, with a relatively low total number of participants, and the limited available data for positive outcomes like functioning and quality of life.ConclusionsConsidering the epidemiological relevance of psychological distress and mental health conditions in refugees and asylum seekers, and in view of the existing data on the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions, these interventions should be routinely made available as part of the health care of distressed refugees and asylum seekers. Evidence-based guidelines and implementation packages should be developed accordingly.

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An assessment of health effects due to ozone and particulate matter (PM10) suggests that each of the 12 million residents of the South Coast Air Basin of California experiences ozone-related symptoms on an average of up to 17 days each year and faces an increased risk of death in any year of 1/10,000 as a result of elevated PM10 exposure. The estimated annual economic value of avoiding these effects is nearly $10 billion. Attaining air pollution standards may save 1600 lives a year in the region.

BackgroundAsthma is the most important chronic disease of childhood. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that children with asthma continue to be susceptible to ozone-associated adverse effects on their disease.ObjectivesThis study was designed to evaluate time trends in associations between declining warm-season O3 concentrations and hospitalization for asthma in children.MethodsWe undertook an ecologic study of hospital discharges for asthma during the high O3 seasons in California’s South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) in children who ranged in age from birth to 19 years from 1983 to 2000. We used standard association and causal statistical analysis methods. Hospital discharge data were obtained from the State of California; air pollution data were obtained from the California Air Resources Board, and demographic data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 U.S. Census. SoCAB was divided into 195 spatial grids, and quarterly average O3, sulfurdioxide, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide were assigned to each unit for 3-month periods along with demographic variables.ResultsO3 was the only pollutant associated with increased hospital admissions over the study period. Inclusion of a variety of demographic and weather variables accounted for all of the non-O3 temporal changes in hospitalizations. We found a time-independent, constant effect of ambient levels of O3 and quarterly hospital discharge rates for asthma. We estimate that the average effect of a 10-ppb mean increase in any given mean quarterly 1-hr maximum O3 over the 18-year median of 87.7 ppb was a 4.6% increase in the same quarterly outcome.ConclusionsOur data indicate that at current levels of O3 experienced in Southern California, O3 contributes to an increased risk of hospitalization for children with asthma.