scholarly journals Prevalence of depressive symptoms and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers in Germany: systematic review and meta-analysis

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hoell ◽  
Eirini Kourmpeli ◽  
Hans Joachim Salize ◽  
Andreas Heinz ◽  
Frank Padberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Pooled Prevalence ◽  
Prevalence Estimates ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

Background In total numbers, Germany has faced the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) in Europe in the past decade. Although a considerable proportion have experienced traumatic and stressful life events, there is no systematic review to date examining the prevalence of depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in RAS in Germany. Aims To calculate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and PTSD symptoms in the general population of RAS living in Germany after the year 2000 and explore the impact of study- and participant-related characteristics on prevalence estimates. Method We systematically searched PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, Academic Search Complete, Science Direct and Web of Science from January 2000 to May 2020 to identify articles reporting prevalence of depressive symptoms and PTSD in RAS in Germany (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020182796). Results In total, 31 different surveys met inclusion criteria with 20 surveys reporting prevalence estimates of depressive symptoms and 25 surveys symptoms of PTSD. Based on screening tools, the pooled prevalence estimate of PTSD symptoms was 29.9% (95% CI 20.8–38.7%) and of depressive symptoms 39.8% (95% CI 29.8–50.1%). Heterogeneity was large within and between subgroups. In multivariate meta-regressions on depressive symptoms, heterogeneity was largely explained by survey period, length of field period and study quality. Conclusions Prevalence rates of depressive symptoms and PTSD symptoms in RAS are notably large. They exceed the prevalence in the general German population. As a result of high heterogeneity, however, pooled prevalence rates should be interpreted with caution.

scholarly journals Long-distance migration was associated with increased prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in Syrian refugees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Halgreen Eiset ◽  
Michaelangelo P Aoun ◽  
Monica Stougaard ◽  
Annemarie Graa Gottlieb ◽  
Ramzi S Haddad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

Background: Refugees are forced migrants but there is a large variation in the distance that refugees cover and there is a knowledge gap on how this may affect refugee' health and health care needs. We investigated the association between long-distance migration and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a serious psychiatric disorder associated with deteriorating mental and somatic health. Methods: Included from 2016-2019 were 712 adult Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in Lebanon and Denmark arrived up to 12 months prior. PTSD was assessed using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the estimate of association was obtained by multiply imputing missing data and adjusting for confounding by propensity score-weighting with covariates age, sex, socioeconomic status, trauma experience and WHO-5-score, reporting the bootstrap 95-percentile confidence interval (95% CI). Additionally, a number of sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: After multiply imputing missing data and propensity score-weighted adjustment for confounding, migration to Denmark instead of Lebanon was associated with an increase in PTSD prevalence of 9 percentage point (95% CI [-1; 19] percentage point). Discussion: We found that long-distance migration was associated with an increase in the prevalence of PTSD suggesting that long-distance migration may be a factor to consider when assessing refugees' and asylum seekers' health. To secure timely and appropriate health care for this vulnerable group we need to remedy the current knowledge gap regarding the health effects of migration. This study is the first step in doing so.

Effects of Emotion Dysregulation on Post-treatment Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Depressive Symptoms Among Women Veterans With Military Sexual Trauma

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110051
Author(s):  
Cristina M. Lopez ◽  
Amanda K. Gilmore ◽  
Wilson J. Brown ◽  
Christine K. Hahn ◽  
Wendy Muzzy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Sexual Trauma ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Military Sexual Trauma ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic

Military sexual trauma (MST), defined as sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment while in the military, is associated with increased risk of long-term mental and physical health problems, with the most common being symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. In addition to PTSD and depression, MST is linked to difficulties in emotion regulation as well as poor treatment engagement. Thus, it is important to examine these correlates, and how they affect postintervention symptom reduction in this vulnerable population. The current study presents secondary data analyses from a randomized clinical trial comparing the efficacy of in-person versus telemedicine delivery of prolonged exposure therapy for female veterans with MST-related PTSD ( n = 151). Results of the study found that changes in difficulties with emotion regulation predicted postintervention depressive symptoms but not postintervention PTSD symptoms. Neither postintervention depressive nor PTSD symptoms were affected by treatment dosing (i.e., number of sessions attended) nor treatment condition (i.e., in-person vs. telemedicine). Findings from the current study provide preliminary evidence that decreases in difficulties with emotion regulation during PTSD treatment are associated with decreases in depressive symptom severity.

scholarly journals The narrative matrix: a narrative-hermeneutic approach in refugee care

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62
Author(s):  
Martyna Chrzescijanska
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Therapeutic Setting ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Hermeneutic Approach ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

This article presents an approach to refugee care that is based on a hermeneutic understanding of the meanings constituted by narratives in therapy. It proposes distinguishing psychotherapeutic models commonly used in therapy with refugees, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or post-traumatic growth theories, from an approach that involves many different narratives in the form of multi-voiced conversation within the therapeutic setting. Such a concept, called here the narrative matrix, is discussed and presented as an alternative and efficient way of providing therapeutic support for refugees and asylum seekers. It discusses family therapy with refugees as an example of the narrative-hermeneutic approach that involves not only different voices from members of a family but different psychotherapeutic models.

scholarly journals Prevalence of complex post-traumatic stress disorder in refugees and asylum seekers: systematic review

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umanga de Silva ◽  
Naomi Glover ◽  
Cornelius Katona
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Treatment Seeking ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Extreme Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

Background Refugees and asylum seekers often report having experienced numerous complex traumas. It is important to understand the prevalence of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), which can follow complex traumas. Aims This systematic review aims to summarise the available literature reporting the prevalence in refugees and asylum seekers of three operationalised definitions of CPTSD: the ICD-11 diagnostic criteria, the ICD-10 criteria (for enduring personality change after catastrophic experience) and the DSM-IV criteria (for disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified). Method Six electronic databases were searched for studies reporting the prevalence of CPTSD in adult refugee and/or asylum-seeking samples. Owing to heterogeneity between the studies, a narrative synthesis approach was used to summarise studies. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal Checklist for Prevalence Studies. This systematic review has been registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42020188422, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=188422). Results Systematic searches identified 15 eligible studies, with 10 examining treatment-seeking samples and five using population samples. CPTSD prevalence in treatment-seeking samples was between 16 and 38%. Prevalence in population samples ranged from 2.2 to 9.3% in four studies, with the fifth reporting a much higher estimate (50.9%). Conclusions This review highlights both the high prevalence of CPTSD in treatment samples and the lack of research aiming to establish prevalence of CPTSD in refugee and asylum-seeking populations. Understanding the prevalence of these disabling disorders has implications for policy and healthcare services for the appropriate promotion, planning and provision of suitable treatment and interventions for this highly traumatised population.

The management of post-traumatic stress disorder and associated pain and sleep disturbance in refugees

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-206
Author(s):  
July Lies ◽  
Lester Jones ◽  
Roger Ho
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Disturbance ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Relationship

SUMMARYMore than 68 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced and one-third of these are refugees. This article offers an overview of the current literature and reviews the epidemiology and evidence-based psychological and pharmacological management of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbance and pain in refugees and asylum seekers. It also considers the relationship between sleep disturbance and PTSD and explores concepts of pain in relation to physical and psychological trauma and distress. During diagnosis, clinicians must be aware of ethnic variation in the somatic expression of distress. Treatments for PTSD, pain and sleep disturbance among refugees and asylum seekers are essentially the same as those used in the general population, but treatment strategies must allow for cultural and contextual factors, including language barriers, loss of freedom and threat of repatriation.LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading this article you will be able to: •recognise the challenges faced by the large number of refugees worldwide•understand the relationship between PTSD, sleep disturbance and pain in refugees•broadly understand the evidence for psychological and pharmacological therapy for treating PTSD, sleep disturbance and pain in refugees.DECLARATION OF INTERESTNone.

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