Health of Syrian unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) at first medical examination in Germany in comparison to UASA from other world regions

Abstract

Background: The war in Syria has led to the biggest refugee crisis of our time. Unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents (UASA) are a particularly vulnerable subgroup of refugees. This study aims to describe the weight status, health behaviour and disease spectrum of Syrian UASA in comparison to UASA from other world regions. Methods: The study was conducted as a prospective cross-sectional analysis of health metrics and diagnoses from 346 UASA (78% male; mean age 16 years) between 2011 and 2017. The data was collected in an outpatient clinic for internal and tropical medicine during a systematic medical examination after arrival. Descriptive and bivariate analyses stratified by gender and region/country of origin were performed. Results: The general health status of the UASA in most cases was good. Compared to other UASA Syrian UASA had the highest underweight prevalence (16.7%) (p =.013) and the second highest smoking prevalence (37.9%) (p