Refugees and other migrants at higher psychosis risk

An analysis of nine studies that examined the mental health of refugees and other migrants finds that they are at a higher risk of developing psychosis than the native population in a host country. Looking at data from 540,000 refugees in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Canada, researchers found that refugees had more than 2.5 times the risk of developing psychosis than the native population. Non-refugee migrants had about twice the risk for psychosis than the native population. Refugees may be especially vulnerable to psychological conditions because of the trauma they often face when being forced to leave their home country, the researchers write. They suggest that future research looking at non-Scandinavian countries should consider how host countries view and receive refugees, which could further exacerbate their risk of developing psychosis.