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Nutritional Status of Refugee Children Entering DeKalb County, Georgia

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Abstract

This study determines the nutritional status among refugee children entering one of the largest resettlement counties in the United States and identifies differences between incoming populations. Medical records of all newly arriving pediatric refugees (0–18 years) entering DeKalb County, Georgia between October 2010 and July 2011 were reviewed. Refugee children were grouped as African, Bhutanese, or Burmese (resettling from either Thailand or Malaysia) for comparative analysis. Approximately one in five refugees were anemic or malnourished, while a quarter had stool parasites, and nearly half had dental caries. African refugees had the highest anemia but the lowest underweight prevalence (p < 0.05). Compared to Burmese resettling from Malaysia, Burmese children from Thailand had a higher prevalence of anemia, underweight, and stool parasites (p < 0.05). Clinicians should use CDC medical screening guidelines for newly arriving pediatric refugees, as well as ensure proper nutritional support and follow-up care.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Ms. Natalie Wood, MA from the DeKalb County Board of Health and Dr. Alexander Klosovsky, MD from the International Organization for Migration for their indispensable help in completing this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children’s National Medical Center, W3.5-600, 111 Michigan Avenue N.W., Washington, DC, 20010, USA

    Ankoor Y. Shah

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Ankoor Y. Shah, Parminder S. Suchdev & Susan Reines

  3. Nutrition Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Parminder S. Suchdev

  4. Immigrant, Refugee, and Migrant Health Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Tarissa Mitchell & Sharmila Shetty

  5. Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA

    Catherine Warner

  6. DeKalb County Board of Health, Decatur, GA, USA

    Alawode Oladele

  7. Southeast Permanente Medical Group, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Tarissa Mitchell & Susan Reines

Authors
  1. Ankoor Y. Shah
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  2. Parminder S. Suchdev
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  3. Tarissa Mitchell
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  4. Sharmila Shetty
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  5. Catherine Warner
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  6. Alawode Oladele
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  7. Susan Reines
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Correspondence to Ankoor Y. Shah.

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Shah, A.Y., Suchdev, P.S., Mitchell, T. et al. Nutritional Status of Refugee Children Entering DeKalb County, Georgia. J Immigrant Minority Health 16, 959–967 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9867-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9867-8

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