Prevalence of dyslipidaemia and micronutrient deficiencies among newly arrived Afghan refugees in rural Australia: a cross-sectional study

Pour, Mehdi Sanati; Kumble, Surabhi; Hanieh, Sarah; Biggs, Beverley‐Ann

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-896

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These findings are similar to previous studies investigating cancer among Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan [10,11,14]. The aetiology of cancer is complex but risk factors, including environmental exposure to munitions and the toxic remnants of war, poor dietary and lifestyle habits, including the heavy use of tobacco-based products such as naswar, and the lack of cancer surveillance programmes likely contribute to the development of cancer in this population [11,[15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Cancer care in times of conflict: cross border care in Pakistan of patients from Afghanistan

Yusuf

Hussain

Sultan

et al. 2020

ecancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Armed conflict in Afghanistan has continued for close to 40 years and has devastated its health infrastructure. The lack of a cancer care infrastructure has meant that many Afghans seek cancer care in neighbouring countries, like Pakistan. There remains a significant lack of empirical data on the new therapeutic geographies of cancer in contemporary conflicts.This retrospective single centre study explores the therapeutic and clinical geographies of Afghan cancer patients who were treated at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) in Lahore, Pakistan over a 22-year-period (1995 to 2017) covering major periods of conflict and relative peace.Data was available for 3,489 Afghan patients who received treatment at SKMCH&RC. The mean age at presentation was 42.7 years, and 60% were men. 30.2% came from Kabul and Nangarhar districts of Afghanistan, which have relatively short travel times to Pakistan, but patients from all parts of Afghanistan migrated to SKMCH&RC for treatment. Overall, 34.1% were diagnosed with upper gastrointestinal malignancies and 55.7% presented with late stage III/IV cancer. A wide range of treatments were provided, with 25.4% of patients receiving a combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. 52.7% of all patients were lost to follow-up. Outcomes were more favourable for children with cancer, 42% of whom had a complete response to therapy.Complex migration patterns, mixed political economies (refugees, forced and unforced migrants) and models of care that must be adapted to the realities of the patients rather than notional international standards all reflect the new therapeutic geographies that long-term conflict creates. This requires significant new domestic and international (e.g., United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) policy and practises for providing cancer care in today's contemporary conflict ecosystems that frequently cross national borders.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Cancer care in times of conflict: cross border care in Pakistan of patients from Afghanistan

Yusuf

Hussain

Sultan

et al. 2020

ecancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This reevaluation includes testing adults with IGRA or TST to document latent TB infection if results from these tests are not available from the overseas examination. The finding that the leading self-reported NCDs in this analysis included overweight/obesity, hypertension, and diabetes is supported by other studies of Afghan and Iraqi immigrants and refugees in the US and other countries, including immigrants and refugees who were tested either overseas or soon after arrival in the resettlement country [12][13][14][15][18][19][20][21]. In our investigation, with the exception of overweight and obesity, the proportions of self-reported NCDs are substantially lower in both SIV populations than in other analyses; e.g., estimates of hypertension or high blood pressure ranged from 21% to 28% among Afghan populations [12,18,19] and 10% to 33% among Iraqi populations [13][14][15]20,21].…”

Section: Plos Medicinesupporting

confidence: 71%

Health profile of adult special immigrant visa holders arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan to the United States, 2009–2017: A cross-sectional analysis

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Between 2,000 and 19,000 Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders (SIVH) from Iraq and Afghanistan resettle in the United States annually. Despite the increase in SIV admissions to the US over recent years, little is known about the health conditions in SIV populations. We assessed the burden of select communicable and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in SIV adults to guide recommendations to clinicians in the US. Methods and findings We analyzed overseas medical exam data in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Electronic Disease Notification system (EDN) for 19,167 SIV Iraqi and Afghan adults who resettled to the US from April 2009 through December 2017 in this cross-sectional analysis. We describe demographic characteristics, tuberculosis screening results, self-reported NCDs, and risk factors for NCDs (such as obesity and tobacco use). In our data set, most SIVH were male (Iraqi: 59.7%; Afghan: 54.7%) and aged 18-44 (Iraqi: 86.3%; Afghan: 95.6%). About 2.3% of Afghan SIVH and 1.1% of Iraqi SIVH had a tuberculosis condition. About 0.3% of all SIVH reported having chronic hepatitis. Among all SIVH, 56.5% were overweight or had obesity, 2.4% reported hypertension, 1.1% reported diabetes, and 19.4% reported current or previous tobacco use. Iraqi SIVH were 3.7 times more likely to have obesity (95% CI: 3.4-4.0), 2.5 times more likely to report diabetes (95% CI: 1.7-3.5), and 2.5 times more likely to be current or former smokers (95% CI: 2.3-2.7) than Afghan SIVH. Limitations include the inability to obtain all SIVH records, self-reported medical history of NCDs, and the underdiagnosis of NCDs such as hypertension and diabetes because formal laboratory testing for NCDs is not used during overseas medical exams.

show abstract

“…Regular exercise training also has the potential to prevent osteoporosis [68]. Accordingly, as refugees have higher odds of developing such diseases [69,70], exercise and sport programs are likely to mitigate some of these cardiometabolic risks. Finally, regular participation in the exercise and sport program was associated with higher post-intervention scores with regard to upper-body strength, as assessed via the handgrip strength test.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of an 8-Week Exercise and Sport Intervention on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Mental Health, and Physical Fitness among Male Refugees Living in a Greek Refugee Camp

Knappe

Colledge

Gerber

2019

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: To explore the potential impact of exercise and sport training on symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, quality of life, pain, and fitness in male refugees living in a Greek refugee camp. Methods: This investigation was designed as a one group pre-test/post-test study. A total of 45 refugees (Mage = 25.6) participated in the data assessment. All participants were invited to engage in an 8-week exercise and sport intervention. Data were analysed with hierarchical regression analyses. Results: Baseline scores significantly predicted post-intervention scores across all study variables. Regression analyses showed that a higher participation rate predicted fewer anxiety symptoms, better health-related quality of life, higher self-perceived fitness, higher handgrip strength, and better cardiovascular fitness at post-intervention. A non-significant trend was also found for PTSD and depressive symptoms, showing that a higher participation rate was associated with fewer complaints at post-intervention. Conclusions: Among male refugees living in precarious conditions in a Greek refugee camp, frequency of participation in an 8-week exercise and sport training program seemed to have the potential to positively impact refugees’ health. Due to the pre-experimental study design, our results must be interpreted with caution.

show abstract

Prevalence of dyslipidaemia and micronutrient deficiencies among newly arrived Afghan refugees in rural Australia: a cross-sectional study

Cited by 19 publications

References 25 publications

Cancer care in times of conflict: cross border care in Pakistan of patients from Afghanistan

Cancer care in times of conflict: cross border care in Pakistan of patients from Afghanistan

Health profile of adult special immigrant visa holders arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan to the United States, 2009–2017: A cross-sectional analysis

Impact of an 8-Week Exercise and Sport Intervention on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Mental Health, and Physical Fitness among Male Refugees Living in a Greek Refugee Camp

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About