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Health profile of adult special immigrant visa holders arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan to the United States, 2009-2017: A cross-sectional analysis.

Gayathri S KumarSimone S WienChristina R PharesWalid SlimHeather M BurkeEmily S Jentes
Published in: PLoS medicine (2020)
In this analysis, we found that 56.5% of all SIVH were overweight or had obesity, 2.4% reported hypertension, 1.1% reported diabetes, and 19.4% reported current or previous tobacco use. In general, Iraqi SIVH were more likely to have obesity, diabetes, and be current or former smokers than Afghan SIVH. State public health agencies and clinicians doing domestic screening examinations of SIVH should consider screening for obesity-as per the CDC's Guidelines for the US Domestic Medical Examination for Newly Arriving Refugees-and smoking and, if appropriate, referral to weight management and smoking cessation services. US clinicians can consider screening for other NCDs at the domestic screening examination. Future studies can explore the health profile of SIV populations, including the prevalence of mental health conditions, after integration into the US.
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