Marquardt L, Krämer A, Fischer F, Prüfer-Krämer L
Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
Travel Clinic, Bielefeld, Germany.
Trop Med Int Health. 2016 Feb;21(2):210-8. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12649. Epub 2015 Dec 22.
This exploratory pilot study aimed to investigate the physical and mental disease burden of unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents arriving in Bielefeld, a medium-size city in Germany.
A cross-sectional survey with purposive sampling of 102 unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents aged 12-18 years was performed. Information on general health status, selected infectious and non-communicable diseases, iron deficiency anaemia and mental illness was collected during routine check-up medical examinations upon arrival in Bielefeld, Germany. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics.
The analysis revealed a complex disease burden with a high prevalence of infections (58.8%), mental illness (13.7%) and iron deficiency anaemia (17.6%) and a very low prevalence of non-communicable diseases (<2.0%). One in five of the refugees were infected with parasites. Whilst sub-Saharan Africans showed the highest prevalence of infections (86.7%), including highest prevalences of parasites (46.7%), West Asians had the highest prevalence of mental disorders (20.0%). Overall, the disease burden in females was higher.
A thorough medical and psychological screening after arrival is highly recommended to reduce the individual disease burden and the risk of infection for others. This promotes good physical and mental health, which is needed for successful integration into the receiving society. Barriers to health service access for unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents need to be lowered to allow need-specific health care and prevention.
本探索性试点研究旨在调查抵达德国中等城市比勒费尔德的无人陪伴寻求庇护青少年的身心疾病负担。
对102名年龄在12 - 18岁的无人陪伴寻求庇护青少年进行了有目的抽样的横断面调查。在抵达德国比勒费尔德后进行的常规体检中，收集了有关一般健康状况、选定的传染病和非传染病、缺铁性贫血和精神疾病的信息。使用描述性统计方法对数据进行分析。
分析显示疾病负担复杂，感染患病率高（58.8%）、精神疾病患病率高（13.7%）、缺铁性贫血患病率高（17.6%），而非传染病患病率极低（<2.0%）。五分之一的难民感染了寄生虫。撒哈拉以南非洲人感染率最高（86.7%），包括寄生虫感染率最高（46.7%），西亚人精神障碍患病率最高（20.0%）。总体而言，女性的疾病负担更高。
强烈建议在抵达后进行全面的医学和心理筛查，以减轻个人疾病负担和他人感染风险。这有助于促进良好的身心健康，而这是成功融入接纳社会所必需的。需要降低无人陪伴寻求庇护青少年获得医疗服务的障碍，以便提供针对需求的医疗保健和预防措施。
