Health of adolescents with migration background in Germany: cross-sectional results from KiGGS wave 2

Abstract

Abstract Background Although 36.5% of minors in Germany had a migration background (MB) in 2017, data on their health situation is scarce. The project ‘Improving Health Monitoring in Migrant Populations’ (IMIRA) initiated in 2016 aims to expand health reporting on the health situation of people with MB, for which a core indicator set was developed. We are describing the health situation of adolescents based on selected core indicators. Methods Data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS wave 2) (2014-2017) are used; adolescents from 11 to 17 years are considered. Prevalences and 95% confidence intervals are calculated for the following indicators: General health status, overweight, hazardous alcohol consumption and use of pediatric or general practitioner’s services. These indicators are stratified along socio-demographic (gender, age, socio-economic status (SES)) and migration-related characteristics (MB, parents’ duration of stay, language spoken at home). Results There are hardly any migration-related differences in the general health status and the use of general medical services. While adolescents with MB are more often affected by overweight (without MB: 11.2%, one-sided: 18.9%, both-sided: 19.8%), they show less often risky alcohol consumption (without MB: 14.5%, one-sided: 7.8%, both-sided: 4.4%). There are differences in health behavior according to SES, parents’ duration of stay in Germany and language spoken at home. Conclusions Overall, the health of adolescents is good, regardless of their MB, and general medical services are used equally. Differences in health behavior cannot be reduced solely to the (non-)existence of a MB, but need a deeper consideration of more specific migration-related characteristics and the SES. Key messages The general health status and health care utilization do not differ between adolescents with and without MB. In contrast, the results on indicators of health behavior vary.