Lurie Jacob Michael, Pietz Harlan Linver, Hatef Claudia, Taki Faten, Lee Annabel, Virk Sargun, Oren Tanzilya, Gbekie Catherine, Milewski Andrew R, Boyer Richard, Kaur Gunisha
Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
These authors contributed equally: Jacob Michael Lurie, Harlan Linver Pietz.
Nat Ment Health. 2024 Dec;2(12):1442-1450. doi: 10.1038/s44220-024-00312-3. Epub 2024 Dec 5.
The refugee experience is a known risk factor for psychological stress, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and somatic pain. However, the prevalence and comorbidity of these health outcomes in asylum seekers is not elucidated. Here we performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study in which the forensic medical evaluations of 453 globally representative US asylum seekers were analyzed. Outcomes included the prevalence of symptoms of psychological stress, CVD, somatic pain and their comorbidity. Symptoms of psychological stress, CVD and somatic pain were documented in 94%, 47% and 50% of participants, respectively; 46% reported both CVD and stress symptoms, and 31% reported all three. Palpitations, presyncope/syncope, stroke symptoms and chest pain were reported in 33%, 25%, 20% and 16% of individuals with CVD symptoms, respectively. Furthermore, both stress symptoms and pain symptoms were each strongly predictive of comorbid CVD symptoms. These findings indicate that asylum seekers experience a high burden of comorbid and interrelated psychological stress, CVD and somatic pain.
难民经历是心理压力、心血管疾病(CVD)和躯体疼痛的一个已知风险因素。然而,这些健康问题在寻求庇护者中的患病率和共病情况尚未阐明。在此,我们进行了一项回顾性横断面研究,分析了453名具有全球代表性的美国寻求庇护者的法医医学评估结果。结果包括心理压力、心血管疾病、躯体疼痛症状的患病率及其共病情况。心理压力、心血管疾病和躯体疼痛症状分别在94%、47%和50%的参与者中被记录;46%的人报告同时有心血管疾病和压力症状,31%的人报告有所有这三种症状。有心血管疾病症状的个体中,分别有33%、25%、20%和16%的人报告有心悸、晕厥前/晕厥、中风症状和胸痛。此外,压力症状和疼痛症状均强烈预示着合并心血管疾病症状。这些发现表明,寻求庇护者经历着心理压力、心血管疾病和躯体疼痛合并及相互关联的高负担。