Nutritional profile of Syrian refugee children before resettlement

Sweetmavourneen Pernitez-Agan,Elizabeth Dawson-Hahn,Catherine Yen,Dominik Zenner,Tarissa Mitchell,Kolitha Wickramage

doi:10.1186/s13031-019-0208-y

Abstract

BackgroundThe year 2015 marked the highest number of refugees globally and included record numbers of Syrians moving to neighboring countries. Half of the Syrians were children aged ≤18 years. Our study sought to examine undernutrition and overnutrition among a group of Syrian refugee children who underwent medical screening by IOM for resettlement.MethodsThis is a retrospective review of Syrian refugee children aged 6 to 59 months from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016. The World Health Organization (WHO) Stata package computed Z-scores based on available weight and height data. Prevalence estimates of undernutrition (wasting and stunting) and overnutrition (overweight and obesity) were made using WHO standards. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the factors associated with wasting, stunting, and overnutrition, adjusting for age, sex, family size, and country of health assessment.ResultsA total of 14,552 Syrian refugee children aged 6 to 59 months underwent health assessments in Jordan (43·1%), Lebanon (38·8%), Turkey (7·0%), Greece (6·7%), Egypt (2·4%), and Iraq (2·1%). Overall, this group of Syrian refugee children had a low prevalence of wasting (< 5%) and stunting (< 10%), and high prevalence of overweight or obese (10.6%). Differences were observed in the prevalence of wasting by country of health assessment. In the multiple regression analysis, the prevalence of stunting and overnutrition decreased with increasing age, and being male was associated with overnutrition but not wasting and stunting.ConclusionsFindings revealed an overall low prevalence of undernutrition among this group of Syrian children assessed, although prevalence varied by age group. This low prevalence may reflect the effectiveness, as well as expose possible gaps, of refugee nutrition programs or interventions in countries of asylum. Further studies are recommended to evaluate other possible contributors to malnutrition in this refugee group.

Highlights

The year 2015 marked the highest number of refugees globally and included record numbers of Syrians moving to neighboring countries
Data source and study population This study is a retrospective review of data from routine health assessments of Syrian refugee children aged 6 to 59 months conducted by International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Our study showed that Syrian refugee children in Greece had a low prevalence of wasting (< 5%)

Summary

Introduction

The year 2015 marked the highest number of refugees globally and included record numbers of Syrians moving to neighboring countries. [5] People in humanitarian crisis, such as refugees, are at higher risk for malnutrition because they often lack access to sufficient healthy food, opportunities for physical activity, and health services. Conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, which started in 2011, displaced 4·8 million people as refugees to neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, by the end of 2016. [7] Half of these refugees were children under the age of 18 years Following this large influx, humanitarian agencies and the governments of host countries had difficulty meeting the growing needs of the refugees, including health services. Recent studies in Lebanon and Jordan have indicated that most Syrian refugees faced some food insecurity, with larger families more vulnerable. [12, 13]

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