Prevalence of chronic conditions in Syrian refugees to Ottawa

Abstract

Objective To study the prevalence of chronic conditions (ie, anemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PD] deficiency, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and tobacco use) in Syrian refugees. Design Cross-sectional study. Four primary care health clinics received Syrian refugees from December 2015 to April 2016, and each followed a standard protocol for refugee health assessments. Setting Ottawa, Ont. Participants Arabic-speaking Syrian refugees were invited for early primary care health assessment. Most participants arrived in Ottawa from temporary refugee encampments in Lebanon and Jordan between December 2015 and April 2016. Main outcome measures Following a protocol, family physicians and nurse practitioners systematically documented age, sex, education, hemoglobin level, G6PD status, HBV and HCV infection, and tobacco use. Results The study included 669 of the 916 government-assisted refugees, which represents most of the 1087 Syrian refugees to Ottawa: 373 male and 296 female participants. Overall, 28.5% of women and adolescent girls had anemia, and 2.0% of men had G6PD deficiency. The seroprevalence of HBV and HCV infection in the overall population was 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively. Tobacco use was reported in 60.3% of men and 11.7% of women. Overall, alcohol use (3.7%) and other substance use (0.5%) were uncommon. Conclusion Anemia was a common health problem in women of reproductive age, while the prevalence of chronic HBV and HCV infection was lower than the prevalence in the general Canadian population. Results showed substantial sex differences in tobacco use, with Syrian men using it at a rate much higher than Canadian men and Syrian women. The health assessment did not document chronic conditions affecting dental or mental health.