Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review
Background Germany has become an important immigration country and health services need to adopt to meet the needs of an increasingly multicultural population. For public health planning, it is essential to understand the aetiology of health problems among migrant populations. The main objective was...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-06-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e058712.full |
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| author | Oliver Razum Florian Fischer Ina Danquah Claudia Hövener Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle Tracy Bonsu Osei Isabel Mank Raissa Sorgho |
| author_facet | Oliver Razum Florian Fischer Ina Danquah Claudia Hövener Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle Tracy Bonsu Osei Isabel Mank Raissa Sorgho |
| author_sort | Oliver Razum |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Germany has become an important immigration country and health services need to adopt to meet the needs of an increasingly multicultural population. For public health planning, it is essential to understand the aetiology of health problems among migrant populations. The main objective was to systematically identify, evaluate and synthesise population-based studies that investigated exposure–outcome relationships among migrant groups in Germany.Methods In November 2019, we searched PubMed and LIVIVO, and updated this search in November 2020, to identify peer-reviewed publications that fulfilled our eligibility criteria: English or German language; study on disease aetiology among major migrant groups in Germany, according to the latest microcensus; publication date from inception to 01 November 2020 and observational or experimental study designs. For quality appraisal, we used the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists. Outcomes under investigation were categorised according to the WHO major disease groups, and their associations with risk factors were synthesised as a heat map.Results Out of 2407 articles retrieved, we included 68 publications with a total number of 864 518 participants. These publications reported on cross-sectional data (n=56), cohort studies (n=11) and one intervention study. The population groups most frequently studied were from the Middle East (n=28), Turkey (n=24), sub-Saharan Africa (n=24), Eastern Europe (n=15) and the former Soviet Union (n=11). The outcomes under study were population group specific. There were consistent associations of demographic and socioeconomic factors with ill health among migrants in Germany.Discussion In this systematic review, we observed low risk of bias in two-thirds of the studies. There is an increasing body of evidence for aetiological research on migrants’ health in Germany. Still, the directions of associations between a wide range of risk factors and major disease groups seem only partially understood.PROSPERO registration number CRD42018085074. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d76af1274924f098da6ad50376435d7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d76af1274924f098da6ad50376435d72025-01-28T05:05:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-06-0112610.1136/bmjopen-2021-058712Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature reviewOliver Razum0Florian Fischer1Ina Danquah2Claudia Hövener3Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle4Tracy Bonsu Osei5Isabel Mank6Raissa Sorgho7Department of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyInstitute of Gerontological Health Services and Nursing Research, Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences, Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences, Weingarten, Germany10 Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité–Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, GermanyBackground Germany has become an important immigration country and health services need to adopt to meet the needs of an increasingly multicultural population. For public health planning, it is essential to understand the aetiology of health problems among migrant populations. The main objective was to systematically identify, evaluate and synthesise population-based studies that investigated exposure–outcome relationships among migrant groups in Germany.Methods In November 2019, we searched PubMed and LIVIVO, and updated this search in November 2020, to identify peer-reviewed publications that fulfilled our eligibility criteria: English or German language; study on disease aetiology among major migrant groups in Germany, according to the latest microcensus; publication date from inception to 01 November 2020 and observational or experimental study designs. For quality appraisal, we used the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists. Outcomes under investigation were categorised according to the WHO major disease groups, and their associations with risk factors were synthesised as a heat map.Results Out of 2407 articles retrieved, we included 68 publications with a total number of 864 518 participants. These publications reported on cross-sectional data (n=56), cohort studies (n=11) and one intervention study. The population groups most frequently studied were from the Middle East (n=28), Turkey (n=24), sub-Saharan Africa (n=24), Eastern Europe (n=15) and the former Soviet Union (n=11). The outcomes under study were population group specific. There were consistent associations of demographic and socioeconomic factors with ill health among migrants in Germany.Discussion In this systematic review, we observed low risk of bias in two-thirds of the studies. There is an increasing body of evidence for aetiological research on migrants’ health in Germany. Still, the directions of associations between a wide range of risk factors and major disease groups seem only partially understood.PROSPERO registration number CRD42018085074.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e058712.full |
| spellingShingle | Oliver Razum Florian Fischer Ina Danquah Claudia Hövener Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle Tracy Bonsu Osei Isabel Mank Raissa Sorgho Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review BMJ Open |
| title | Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review |
| title_full | Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review |
| title_fullStr | Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review |
| title_short | Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review |
| title_sort | aetiological research on the health of migrants living in germany a systematic literature review |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e058712.full |
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