Health of resettled Iraqi refugees-San Diego County, California, October 2007-September 2009.

Abstract:

Iraqi refugees are now the largest refugee group resettling to the United States; although they receive a standard medical exam overseas before resettlement and a recommended, more comprehensive health assessment after arrival, information about the health status of Iraqi refugees had not been summarized previously. To describe the health profile of resettled Iraqi refugees, post-arrival medical assessment data were reviewed for 5100 Iraqi refugees who underwent full or partial assessments at the San Diego County refugee health clinic during federal fiscal years (FYs) 2008 and 2009 (October 2007-September 2009). Among 4923 screened refugees aged> 1 year, 692 (14.1%) had latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI); among 3047 screened adult refugees aged> 18 years, 751 (24.6%) were classified as obese; and among 2704 screened adult refugees, 410 (15.2%) were hypertensive. In addition, of the refugees aged≥ 40 years who were screened for hyperlipidaemia, 114 (39.9%) of 286 had dyslipidaemia. Although infectious illness has been the traditional focus of refugee medical screening, a high prevalence of chronic, noninfectious conditions that could lead to serious morbidity was observed among Iraqi refugees. Public health agencies should be aware of the potentially diverse health profiles of resettling refugee groups.

Año de publicación:

2010

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Fuente:

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