Disease burden in older Ukrainian refugees of war: a synthetic reanalysis of public records data

Refugee Health: A Global and Multidisciplinary Challenge

“…Relocated Ukrainian older subjects require comprehensive assessment of all organ systems since most of them present with at least two chronic non-communicable diseases affecting the heart, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and genitourinary system, including those requiring emergency care. 9 Preliminary estimates of the demographics of the migration flows to European countries by the UN Refugee Agency point to an alarmingly high number of subjects with serious chronic diseases. 34 Supposedly, half a million of migrants suffer from chronic kidney disease and require blood pressure monitoring along with regular laboratory health check-ups.…”

“…An analysis of Polish official records of 624,690 older refugees reveals that 4,578 of them have newly diagnosed tuberculosis. 9 The number of older refugees with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is also high. 35 An official statement of the Division of Country Health Programmes for WHO Europe in March 2022 revealed that 1,400 Ukrainian adult refugees were in need of treatment for tuberculosis, including third of them for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.…”

“…Another approximate estimation predicted mass migration of Ukrainians older than 60 years with pulmonary, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and genitourinary diseases. 9 The accumulating statistical records are increasingly important for developing healthcare strategies and mobilizing resources for targeted care in host countries. 10 …”

Are the health systems of EU countries hosting Ukrainian refugees ready to adapt?

“…These challenges include an insufficient number of general physicians who typically act as the gateway to the health-care system, the need to train health-care workers about diseases they might not typically see among nationals in such large numbers or severity (eg, tuberculosis and mental health illnesses), a remuneration system that does not allow health-care professionals to be reimbursed in an administratively simple manner, increased demand on tertiary care (eg, oncological cases), an inadequate amount of health information and guidance translated into Ukrainian, and an insufficient provision of interpreters. 2 Finally, the authors provide concrete numbers that allow health-care planners to understand tangibly the challenges to their systems and plan accordingly. For example, the estimated number of approximately 1500 new myocardial infarctions per year is the equivalent to the turnover of one full-scale invasive cardiology centre, and estimations suggest there will be about 20 000 new strokes annually.…”

“…There will be approximately 4500 new and recurring cases of tuberculosis per year, which indicates that active tuberculosis screening during each medical contact is advisable. 2 Have EU countries hosting large numbers of Ukrainian refugees planned for, and adapted their health systems to adjust to, this new reality? From early in the crisis until now, there has been a plethora of guidance and advice from WHO, practitioners, and academics about what needs to be done.…”